Laser technologies: a step forward for small and medium enterprises

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY

The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) or the International Centre for Science and High Technology (ICS). Mention of firms names and commercial products does not imply endorsement by UNIDO or ICS. Any specifications or costs contained in this publication are for reference only; they reflect the market conditions at the time of writing. All pictures are in low definition in order to facilitate downloading and may not reflect the true finish of products. For more defined pictures the reader should refer to ICS UNIDO. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from ICS.

Cover page insets include pictures of laser applications (from left to right, from top to down): marked metal component; 2D cut on stainless steel sheet; Cut and marked clothing items.

Thanks go to all the companies and institutions mentioned in the chapter on SOURCES OF INFORMATIONand also to those that shared their know-how but prefer not to be named.

ICS-UNIDO is supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the International Centre for Science and High Technology, 2008 High Technology and New Materials International Centre for Science and High Technology ICS-UNIDO, AREA Science Park Padriciano 99, 34012 Trieste, Italy Tel.: +39-040-9228126 Fax: +39-040-9228122 E-mail: htnm@ics.trieste.it

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Laser technologies: A step forward for small and medium sized enterprises

Prepared by: Nicola Drago Paolo Villoresi Graziano Bertogli

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND HIGH TECHNOLOGY Trieste, 2008

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LASER TECHNOLOGIES: A STEP FORWARD FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES Laser technologies Lasers in the future: Perspectives for small and medium sized enterprises ABSTRACT This publication provides an overview of present and future laser technology applications for industrial products manufacturing, e.g. metal and non-metal processing (cutting, marking, welding) and quality control. The target audience is small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to raise their interest in these technologies, which could be complementary and, in certain cases, more profitable alternatives to conventional manufacturing technologies, due to their good flexibility, quality of output and decreasing investment cost. This report is organised in two parts: Laser technologies and Lasers in the future: Perspectives for small and medium enterprises The first part of the report consists of a description of laser techniques, a review of some real manufacturing cases in SMEs, and a review of some of the research and development (R&D) literature. The applications (cutting, marking, inspection, manual welding) were chosen based on the following criteria: a) highest market share, as an indication of reliability; b) investment of less than 1 million; c) basic level competence required. These are suggestions only; there are many other applications, and technology developments and improvements are continuing in aspects, such as efficiency, cooling and space requirements, speed, flexibility and price. The manufacturing sector was chosen both because of the high added-value of laser technologies in this sector, and its importance in the industrial bases of developing or transition economies. The second part of the report focuses on laser technologies and applications, e.g. a) semiconductor high power lasers, b) continuous wave and pulsed fibre lasers, and c) solid state disc and advanced CO2 lasers. Furthermore, this publication examines some of the novel interaction mechanisms enabled by these new technologies which provide opportunities for SMEs and entrepreneurs to undertake novel processes. Finally the input from the scientific research to the laser application market is reviewed along with descriptions of applications with long term potential. Laser technologies are a remarkable and a progressively more accessible option to obtain new products from a variety of materials (metal, plastic, leather, wood, paper and others) in competitive conditions. However, in calculating the returns from investment in laser technologies it must be remembered that lasers are not a panacea for every industrial process; although they may have advantages over other technologies, learning will be required through experimentation with configurations and materials, co-design between client and supplier to provide product enhancements, and formalisation of know-how to increase efficiency. Finally, SMEs will need to find appropriate financing schemes for their investments. This work is based on interviews with original equipment manufacturers (OEM), laser system integrators and manufacturing SMEs that utilise these technologies, combined with a review of some recent literature. For a more theoretical approach, the ICS Lectures on Industrial Applications of Lasers (2000, ISBN 92-1-106408-2) is recommended.

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Part 1: LASER TECHNOLOGIES

SUMMARY ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................... x 1 INTRODUCTION TO LASER TECHNOLOGIES ............................................................ 1 2 SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ......................................................... 4 3 METAL PRODUCTS .................................................................................................... 7 3.1 CUTTING............................................................................................................ 7 3.1.1 SMALL JEWELLERY AND DECORATION COMPONENTS....................... 11 3.1.2 PARTS FOR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENTS ..................................... 12 3.1.3 CUTTING FOR FABRICATION.................................................................. 14 3.2 MARKING ........................................................................................................ 16 3.2.1 A MARKING CASE .................................................................................. 18 3.3 MANUAL LASER REFURBISHMENT OF DIES AND MOULDS......................... 20 3.4 LASER WELDING PROCESS ........................................................................... 22 4 NON-METAL APPLICATIONS: TEXTILE, GLASS AND OTHERS ................................ 26 4.1 A FASHION MARKING CASE ........................................................................... 29 4.2 TEXTILE PATCH PRODUCTION........................................................................ 32 4.3 CRYSTAL PROMOTIONAL GADGETS .............................................................. 34 5 LASER INSPECTION................................................................................................. 35 6 LOOKING AHEAD ..................................................................................................... 36 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 37 8 SOURCES OF INFORMATION .................................................................................. 40 9 ANNEX: ARTICLE SYNOPSIS.................................................................................... 41

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List of figures Figure 1: laser components Figure 2: potential harms from portable devices 5 Figure 3: laser on welding glove 5 Figure 4: burn from partial 2kW CO2 laser reflection Figure 5: finger injury at the accident, after 10 days, after 21 days Figure 6: 2D cut on stainless steel sheet 8 Figure 7: 3D cut on tube 8 Figure 8: reduced scrape Figure 9: laser cut pendants for jewellery (on the right) Figure 10: small size laser cut components 11 Figure 11: laser cut and engraved component 11 Figure 12: lay out with 2 cutting machines Figure 13: laser cut stainless steel samples 13 Figure 14: laser cut item 13 Figure 15: lasing gas cylinders Figure 16: cutting gas storage Figure 17: 4-lasers lay-out 14 Figure 18: fabricated frame from laser cut components 15 Figure 19: laser cut profile in mild steel for fabrication Figure 20: fabrication job-shop lay-out 15 Figure 21: marked metal coloured component 17 Figure 22: marked metal component Figure 23: detailed picture marked on plate Figure 24: marked instrument manifold 18 Figure 25: marking lay-out sketch 19 Figure 26: welded item 20 Figure 27: repaired mould 20 17 17 15 13 13 12 10 11 5 5 1

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Figure 28: welding in an inside edge 20 Figure 29: cross section of filler deposit Figure 30: class I laser manual welder with open doors Figure 31: mould repair with a class IV manual laser welder 21 Figure 32: Reflection coefficient, wavelength, materials 22 Figure 33: temperature and welding section Figure 34: plasma generation 23 Figure 35: speed, power and penetration 23 Figure 36: influence factors Figure 37: lap seam welding scheme Figure 38: lap welding cross section 24 Figure 39: T-joint schemes 24 Figure 40: T-joint cross section Figure 41: butt weld schemes Figure 42: butt weld cross section 24 Figure 43: pump components 25 Figure 44: stainless steel container Figure 45: clothing accessories 27 Figure 46: wood veneer 27 Figure 47: decoration on denim Figure 48: embroidery cutting Figure 49: graduated wear-effect on denim 29 Figure 50: composed pictures 29 Figure 51: marked golf with laser machining detail Figure 52: holes in technical tissue 29 Figure 53: marked hearts on thick tissue 30 Figure 54: cut and marked accessories Figure 55: textile marking lay-out 30 30 29 28 28 25 24 24 23 24 23 20 21

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Figure 56: embroidery with laser cutting 32 Figure 57: embroided item Figure 58: embroided and laser cut item Figure 59: printed, cut and applied patches 33 Figure 60: multicolour printed patch 33 Figure 61: 3D engraved crystals Figure 62: 2D laser inspection equipment 35 34 32 32

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ACRONYMS 2D 3D ABS CAD CAM CNC CO CO2 CW HAZ HeNe LAN LASER LCD LIS MAG MIG MPE N2 Nd:YAG OEM PC PET PVC QC R&D SME STENT TIB TIG UPS Two dimensions Three dimensions Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic Computer Aided Design Computer Aided Manufacturing Computer Numerical Control Carbon Monoxide Carbon Dioxide Continuous Wave Heat affected zone Helium Neon laser Local Area Network Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Liquid crystal display Laser Induced Super Plasticity Metal Active Gas Metal Inert Gas Maximum Permissible Exposure Nitrogen Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet Original Equipment Manufacturers Personal computer Polyethylene terephthalate plastic Polyvinyl Chloride plastic Quality Control Research and Development Small and Medium Enterprise/s A tube designed to be inserted into a vessel or passageway to keep it open. E.g.: stents are inserted into narrowed coronary arteries German National Library of Science and Technology (Technische Informationsbibliothek Universittbibliothek Hannover, http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/) Tungsten Inert Gas Uninterruptible Power Supply

xi ACRONYMS

INTRODUCTION TO LASER TECHNOLOGIES

Innovation in manufacturing has a direct impact on the competitiveness of SMEs in terms of costs, but it also may enable new product design that would be not be achievable with the use of more conventional technologies. This is particularly true of laser technologies. Following several decades of development and industrial use, lasers can now be considered to be standard equipment, with wide commercial application and good reliability, comparable to other tried and tested industrial machinery. The producers of industrial lasers provide guarantees for their operation and specify standard maintenance programmes, which, in most cases, are less demanding than are required for mechanical equipment.

The laser in a nutshell Lasers are light sources. The concept is very versatile; they can emit visible, infrared or ultraviolet spectra; they can generate long as well as very short pulses (pulsed lasers), or very powerful steady beams (continuous-wave, or CW, lasers), which are focused using simple elements such as lenses or concave mirrors in small micrometre-size spots, or to propagate nearly parallel beams extending for several kilometres (collimated beams). They differ from a fire, the sun or an ordinary light-bulb in terms of the intrinsic light generating mechanism which radiates as a continuous repetition of spontaneous and disordered processes, producing generally uniform illumination around them. The generation of the light from lasers is by amplification of a well-ordered and single-frequency seed, which produces a very directed emission, which is single-coloured and coherent across the beam. The core of the light amplifier is the gain medium, which may be based on a gas, liquid or solid medium, chosen for its optical properties. The gain medium transfers to the optical beam the energy received from the external pump, the power supply. The amplification occurs within a resonator, usually consisting of a pair of aligned mirrors, with parallel surfaces, in which the seed grows through multiple passages through the gain medium. The output beam slips off the resonator via one of the mirrors which is semitransparent. Figure 1 depicts the principal components of a laser: 1. Active laser medium; 2. Laser pumping energy; 3. High reflector; 4. Output coupler; 5. Laser beam

Figure 1: laser components

Clearly, there are more straightforward and affordable applications, such as cutting, marking, etc., which can be considered to be frontier solutions but whose development will take some time for

them to be considered completely reliable. We have tried to select applications and technologies that are simple and accessible for SMEs embarking on investment in laser technology, and to highlight ongoing developments. It should be remembered that as SMEs experience in using lasers accumulates, it will become easier to introduce new technologies on the shop floor, progressing from simple laser operations, such as marking, to cutting, and to more complex welding operations that facilitate the delivery of new products or services. The laser process has many similarities with other manufacturing processes, in which relationships between customers and suppliers over design are very important. Job shops or manufacturing facilities areas with short-time production planning, and product-line manufacturers should choose their laser equipment taking account of the following points: are there alternative, more economic technologies? level of competence required for different processes (i.e. welding is normally more demanding than cutting) and different materials (e.g. plastic or metal); optimisation of operator time, especially in materials handling and tool change-out; optimal choice of components: laser manufacturer, laser model and type of automation, specific to the application; availability of adequate infrastructure (gas, electricity, compressed air) and after-sales and maintenance services; capacity balancing in order to avoid high investments producing bottlenecks in other production phases. Laser cutting and marking can usually be achieved using standardised machines; welding equipment is generally more specialised and needs adaptation to the customers application. SMEs requiring customised equipment may be able to obtain a full-package system from the OEM. Otherwise, they must use a systems integrator, i.e. a company that integrates standard technologies in customised settings.

How lasers work The laser beam interacts with materials in different ways depending on the type of target, its absorption and composition, the laser colour or wavelength, and the intensity of the laser beam. The most common interactions are: thermal: the laser light is absorbed and converted into heat. The local temperature rises rapidly. Depending on the material this may induce melting, vaporisation, combustion, degradation, surface hardening, etc. photo-chemical: the light acts as a reagent and induces changes in the chemical composition of the target material, or dissociation of molecules and disaggregation of compounds. nonlinear: the high intensity of the laser pulses induces local vaporisation or defects in transparent materials, e.g. engraving on glass. The industrial equipment has the characteristics and controls to allow precise material removal (cutting, drilling, marking), joining (welding and soldering), and different kinds of thermal surface modifications (hardening, alloying, cladding).

Laser market Here we are interested in materials processing applications which use laser sources that are different from the lasers used for telecommunication and optical storage (e.g. optical fibre telecommunication, DVD-CD writers/readers, bar-code readers, etc.). These latter are very low power, and cannot be used in manufacturing. The global market for non-telecommunications lasers in 2007 was expected to exceed US$6 billion, with a positive trend for volume and decreasing trend for prices. The major industrial laser market players reported sales increases of 12%-18% in 2006 compared to 2005. Materials processing applications represent the vast majority of these laser sales. Concerning types of lasers, the 2007 market share was: solid state lamp-pumped, CO2 flowing, excimer, solid state diode-pumped, fibre, CO2sealed, other.

Laser types Below is a list of lasers in general industrial applications. Gas lasers: are the most widespread industrial lasers. They are based on a gaseous gain medium, which is energised to produce the light amplification through an electrical discharge. The most common application in this class is the carbon dioxide, or CO2 laser, which is used for materials processing and has the biggest market share, although other types (HeNe, Argon-ion, CO) are also important. The CO2 laser emits infrared radiation at a wavelength of 10.6 micrometres, and can be produced from power outputs of a few tens of Watts (W) to a few tens of kiloWatts (kW); In solid state lasers: the gain medium is a doped crystal or glass, pumped by strong flashlights or diode lasers. The most common type is the Nd:YAG laser, from the Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG), whose wavelength is 1.06 micrometres, in the near-infrared, and is easily deliverable by fibre optic; FibreFibre lasers: the gain medium is a piece of optical fibrefibre doped with elements such as erbium or ytterbium. They require a diode laser as a pump, injected into the gain medium. The infrared beam is of very good quality and their output power has reached the kW range, and is naturally delivered by a fibrefibre. This type of laser is the most recent development and is undergoing rapid growth. Semiconductor or diode high-power lasers: these are very important sources in the near infrared, which may reach kW output. They are based on telecom diode laser technology, but are a thousand-fold more powerful while maintaining a 1 centimetre size. The beam is of lower quality than from other sources, and requires advanced beam shaping optics to be launched in fibrefibres. Their initial and still widespread use is for optical pumps in Nd:YAG lasers, as beneficial alternatives to lamps. They are also used for low power applications, such as miniature welding, for thermal treatment of metals using large spots which direct more sources, reaching multi-kWs, and for welding plastics. Chemical lasers: are powered by chemical reaction. Examples are hydrogen fluoride or deuterium fluoride; they are only used where there is no electricity available. Excimer lasers: are very intense sources of ultraviolet light, used in medicine and lithography, and are based on a gaseous gain medium strongly pumped by an electron beam.

SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Safety cannot be emphasised too much. Users of laser technologies must be aware of two main issues for which solutions are widely available: the risks to operators eyes and skin, and the emissions, which can affect the environment and threaten the health of operators. In terms of protection, SMEs must take account of the following issues in order to introduce safety procedures to protect personnel and the environment: Laser class: this is clearly specified in the equipment documentation (brochure, manuals) and on the equipment itself and is classified according to the international laser safety standard IEC 60825-1. The classification can range from I the safest, to IV the most hazardous. A description of these classifications is included at the end of this chapter. Eyewear and wavelength: Operators must wear protective eyewear - laser goggles - according to the wavelength and laser class. Guidelines can be found in the national standards system or in the European norm EN207 and EN208 or US norms ANSI Z136.1-2-3-5-6 (http://www.laserinstitute.org/store/ANSI/106A). Even exposure to relatively low power lasers can be dangerous. Near-infrared laser radiation of 400-1,400nm wavelength may cause heating of the retina, cataracts or burn injuries, which can occur without pain to the operator or any immediate effect on sight. (A popping or clicking noise from the eyeball indicates retinal damage, which could result in permanent blind spots). Skin burns: exposure to high power beams at any wavelength can result in skin burns. Although recovery will be complete, there will be short term pain and discomfort. Focused beams can cause burns, and deep cauterised or bleeding holes or cuts. Air contaminants: suitable capture devices must be installed to reduce the health and environmental hazards from laser processing. Devices such as table exhaust systems, working head integrated systems, total enclosures, and filters can be provided by the OEM or found on the market. Due to their thermal character and the variety of applications and materials (metal, wood, plastic, and others), laser processing can emit a complexity of air contaminants that may be malodorous and have serious side effects for humans as 40%-60% of these contaminants settle in the alveoli of the lungs. Certain plastics (PVC, PET, ABS, etc.) applications generate dioxins; wood can generate flammable components and dust; chrome tanned crusts can disperse heavy metal particles; and metals can generate metallic particles. The highest emission rates are associated with laser cutting (>100mg/s); these levels may be 10 to 100 times lower for material removal or marking. Proper fume exhaustion devices must be installed in production units. Proper working conditions: laser operators must be ensured safe and comfortable working conditions, and especially those working on higher classes of lasers or portable laser equipment. This may include proper enclosures, wavelength specific eyewear, protective clothing, safety interlocks, properly displayed safety information on laser radiation, warning lights, plans of the laser sources in the building or area, in addition to standard operating procedures and suitable education and training. Such precautions will enhance both safety and productivity.

Exporting lasers Although commercial laser systems are usually licensed, there are also export controls to which lasers are subject, which limit the shipment of products with potential military application, from Wassenar1 to nonWassenar countries. Initial developments in lasers were and still are connected to weaponry. Their control is based on quantifiable parameters such as power, wavelength, and overall efficiency and distinguishes between lasers that can be freely exported and lasers that can only be exported under licence, which include continuous wave CW, pulsed, and tuneable lasers.
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The participating Wassenar countries are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America. Information is available at the Wassenaar Arrangement website http://www.wassenaar.org/

Figure 2: Potential harms from portable devices

Figure 3: Laser on welding glove

Figure 5: Finger injury at time of the accident, after 10 days, after 21 days Figure 4: Burn from partial 2kW CO2 laser reflection

LASER CLASSES (from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_safety): class I A class 1 laser is safe for use under all reasonably-anticipated conditions of use; in other words, it is not expected that the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) can be exceeded. This class may include lasers of a higher class whose beams are confined within a suitable enclosure so that access to laser radiation is physically prevented. class IM Class 1M lasers produce large-diameter beams, or beams that are divergent. The MPE for a Class 1M laser cannot normally be exceeded unless focusing or imaging optics are used to narrow the beam. If the beam is refocused, the hazard of Class 1M lasers may be increased and the product class may be changed. class II A Class 2 laser emits in the visible region. It is presumed that the blink reflex will be sufficient to prevent damaging exposure, although intentional, prolonged viewing may be dangerous. class IIM A Class IIM laser emits in the visible region in the form of a large diameter or divergent beam. It is presumed that the human blink reflex will be sufficient to prevent damaging exposure, but if the beam is focused, damaging levels of radiation may be reached and may lead to a reclassification of the laser. class IIIR A Class 3R laser is a continuous wave laser which may produce up to five times the emission limit for Class 1 or class 2 lasers. Although the MPE can be exceeded, the risk of injury is low. The laser can produce no more than 5 mW in the visible region. class IIIB A class 3B laser produces light of intensity such that the MPE for eye exposure may be exceeded and direct viewing of the beam is potentially serious. Diffuse reflections (i.e., that which is scattered from a diffusing surface) should not be hazardous. CW emission from such lasers at wavelengths above 315 nm must not exceed 0.5 watts. class IV Class 4 lasers are of high power (typically more than 500 mW if CW, or 10 J/cm if pulsed). These are hazardous to view at all times, may cause devastating and permanent eye damage, may have sufficient energy to ignite materials, and may cause significant skin damage. Exposure of the eye or skin to both the direct laser beam and to scattered beams, even those produced by reflection from diffusing surfaces, must be avoided at all times. In addition, they may pose a fire risk and may generate hazardous fumes.

3 3.1

METAL PRODUCTS CUTTING

OVERVIEW Laser cutting is the cutting of solid materials using a focused laser beam. It is by far the most common application of industrial laser technologies and also one of the most standardised. The materials to which it can be applied include mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium, alloy metals, reflective metals such as copper and brass, glass, plastic, leather, wood, and in a wide range of thicknesses. Most materials can be cut by a laser. Laser cutting represents a step forward in product design, and especially in relation to the value that is added to products requiring complex profiles or holes. In these cases, laser use is profitable even for small production runs. The characteristics of commercial lasers make them very flexible: no tooling, no mechanical contact, little inertia, very small cut width and restricted thermally-affected zone, wide range of thicknesses of good finishing cutting, user friendly CNC (computer numeric control) programming and interface to CAD (computer aided design), minimal maintenance. However, the full benefits of their exploitation can only be achieved through experience in use and the integration of design and manufacturing, i.e. design synergy between client and supplier. In the case of sheet metalworking, laser systems often substitute for the more conventional guillotine shears and punching machines and avoid the use of ad-hoc tooling for curved profiles. Lasers can cut down on 90% or more of a job-shop production. However, the entrepreneur must be certain that working and safety conditions are met (see chapter Plant and Equipment), and that adequate servicing facilities are available in the area and should ensure whether the product could be produced more economically with other technologies such as ad hoc dies in automatic machines in the case of long runs, or oxygen lance or plasma cuts in the case of less complicated/lower finish work. Reliable technologies (CO2 was introduced in the 1960s, Nd:YAG in the 1970s), programmable logics, CAD/CAM nesting, adaptive diagnostic systems that monitor the region affected by the laser beam, and automation, extend and ease the cutting jobs undertaken by SMEs, which can exploit the system on a three-shift/day basis, 6,000 hours/year, will not be dependent on the constant presence of an operator or on highly skilled operators to obtain the desired flexibility, cutting profiles and quality made viable by the use of lasers. The cut can be executed in two dimensions (2D), for instance on metal sheets, or in three dimensions (3D) in the case of components that need to be cut in width, length and height such as tubes.

CUTTING

Figure 6: 2D cut on stainless steel sheet Figure 7: 3D cut on tube In principle, lasers can cut any complicated profile and a range of organic and inorganic materials, which makes them one of the most flexible manufacturing technologies available, and has brought a shift in product design. SME operators usually consider laser applications to be most appropriate for high value-added products, i.e. materials whose profiles and finishes justify investment in an expensive, though reliable, technology. SMEs tend to purchase the highest power generation available in the market. Many invest in an additional laser machine before the end of the cycle of depreciation of an existing one to enable specialisation by material. Depending on the application, SMEs can find commercial equipment with three to four axes movements for 2D cutting or five to six axes for 3D cutting, whose beams can be delivered by robot systems in the case of fibre lasers and also CO2 systems with more complex optic systems which are normally only justified in high value added and capital intensive plants. Motion can be via flying optics, sliding worktables or a hybrid solution. Different materials may require different technologies: CO2 lasers are especially indicated for mild steel, stainless steel, iron, nickel, tin, lead, PVC, epoxy, leather, wood, rubber, wool, cotton, acrylics, polyethylene, polycarbonate. In spite of their vast range of applications based on beam quality, low cost, and reliability, CO2 lasers cannot be delivered by fibre optics because of their wavelength, They are thus not easily manipulated by robots; Nd:YAG lasers, whether lamp or diode pumped, are indicated for aluminium, copper, brass, platinum, gold, silver, hastelloy, silicon nitrides, aluminium oxides, boron nitrides, polycrystalline diamond, pyrographite, titanium, tantalum, zirconium, molybdenum, tungsten, chrome, glass, quartz, asbestos, mica, and natural stones. Because of its wavelength, the Nd:YAG laser can be transmitted through fibre optic and is suitable for robotic manipulation; Ytterbium fibre lasers are another technology that has recently come onto the market. Their current high price is counterbalanced by their greater efficiency (up to 30% at the time of the publication), higher output power (commercial models up to 10kW or even scalable to 50 kW, vs 4kW-6kW of CO2 and Nd:YAG), very high beam quality, simpler cooling (tap water), longer pumping diode duration (25,000 vs 10,000 hours) and consequent lower maintenance costs, which result in lower per hour operating costs, greater portability and novel application. Ytterbium fibre lasers can be used to cut mild steel, stainless steel, titanium alloy, aluminium alloy, galvanised steel, nitinol, inconel, and plastics. Disc lasers are another recent technology, which has the same cutting applications as Nd:YAG, but at higher power densities and wall-plug efficiency (15% at the time of the publication), thus enabling faster and deeper cutting. In 2006, the fibre and disc lasers had a +45% sales trend world wide compared to 1%-5% of the more traditional CO2 and Nd:YAG, although the volume of sales of these latter two is 14 times higher. The diffusion of fibre and disc lasers may erode the market shares of the more conventional laser technologies as investment and running costs (especially linked to diode

CUTTING

duration and maintenance) decrease and facilities costs in the industrial environment come down. PLANT AND EQUIPMENT Laser cutting equipment requires a series of working conditions to be fulfilled in order to maintain reliability. In the reference case of a world standard 3.2kW CO2 machine cutting 3,000mm x 1,500mm sheets up to 20mm in mild steel, 12mm in stainless steel or 8mm in aluminium, the following conditions would apply: Electricity should be stable at 400V 10V nominal. Power consumption ranges between 27kW and 53kW and the electric installations should bear 85kVA. In case of low stability, interruptions or shading, the entrepreneur should consult with the laser OEM about whether it is reasonable to use stabilisers, continuity groups, generators and/or switches from the grid to preserve the equipment. In fact, interruptions may cause higher scrapes because of quality problems and equipment damage. Pure lasing and cutting gases should be available in adequate quantities, certified and reasonably priced. Lasing gases could be delivered in batches of several cylinders while cutting gases could be stocked in large pressure tanks (e.g. 5,000 litres) either owned or leased. Impure gases or lack of gases can greatly reduce cutting speeds and maximum thicknesses. In the case of high power CO2 cutting the following purity specifications apply: GAS CO2 N2 He O2 GRADE 4.8 5.0 4.6 3.5 PURITY 99.998% 99.9990% 99.996% 99.95%

Compressed air, substituting N2, should be of hospital quality purity. Lubricant polluted compressed air could damage equipment; Cooling water should be demineralised with conductivity lower then 10-5 siemens/cm for CO2 lasers (fibre lasers require tap water). Higher cooling options may be selected in the case of tropical temperatures; Although a deep basement is not required, a flat stable base is required to maintain the calibration positioning. For reference, calculate an approximate applied force of 27,000N for the machine and 7,000N for the loading automation; additional criteria apply in the case of faster equipment (e.g. with linear motors); Adequate working space should be assigned to loading operations, off-loading, safety light barriers and materials handling. For reference: with the exception of materials handling runways, the surface required should be approximately 9m x 11m or, if a loading automation is installed, 11 m x 13 m; Safety devices for the protection of operators and the environment. Photovoltaic (PV) barriers to prevent accidents are normally provided with the equipment; exhaust and dust filtration must be carefully selected because the dust particles from these operations can be inhaled; A personal computer (PC) and nesting/programming software are recommended to enable process optimisation and cost reduction. Appropriate production planning, mixing of different orders, and nesting software can reduce scrape material to less than 10% resulting in significant cost reductions.

CUTTING

Figure 8: Reduced scrape The investment required for a cutting system depends on the type of technology, equipment standardisation, and automation. In addition, the entrepreneur should evaluate the Incoterms and plant costs involved in housing this equipment, which will vary from country to country. At the time of the writing, as a rule of thumb, a maximum of 500,000 would be needed for a mediumhigh cutting station: 300,000 for the complete cutting system based on a 3.2kW CO2 laser source (for 3,000mm x 1,500mm plates), 20,000 for programming and nesting software and 120,000 for loading automations if requested. Laser cutting SMEs tend to purchase the highest power generation available in the market; however, such equipment may have higher costs (for reference the most recent 6kW CO2 equipment and loading automation at 2008 prices costs approximately 1 million), which enable state-of-the-art performance provided the appropriate working environment, experience and maintenance are available. In principle, it is not necessary to have the highest power and SMEs should evaluate the level of power appropriate to their projected production. For CO2-cutting running costs, commercial OEMs can estimate for customers the cost of different applications (materials, thicknesses). The following are provided as a guide but will vary from country to country and will also depend on the duty cycle:1 Electricity: an average of 70-80kW per machine in real terms; Gas: lasing and cutting gases are supplied by a limited number of companies, and prices are volatile. A rough estimate of lasing gas consumption may be in the range 1, 6, and 13 litres/hour respectively for CO2, nitrogen and helium, and 500-2,000 litres/hour for cutting gases (CO2, nitrogen) in high power systems; mid- and low-power lasers may have a much lower or even no consumption, as in the case of sealed tube lasers, available up to about 500W. Maintenance: laser equipment tends to be reliable; however, good maintenance maintains competitiveness because down-time and spare-parts are expensive. In the case of CO2 equipment, the entrepreneur may budget 1 day/month for preventive maintenance and, in Europe, 10,000-25,000 in consumables and manpower/year, proportional to machine performance. Items that need maintenance are filters, lenses (once or twice a year if the machine is used properly), final stage valves, and telescopic covers in the case of faster machines. Cut thicknesses and performances progressively decrease with longer maintenance intervals. Personnel for up/off-loading and programming; Depreciation: depending on the allowed rates; Compressed air Raw materials (if applicable).

i.e. the time of laser-on, which may vary from 15-80%, and the hours of operation, normally 2,000-4,000 hours, but could reach 6,000 hours, based on 20 hours/day, 5 days/week, and 10 hours/day 1 day/week on a 12 month basis.

10 CUTTING

CUTTING EXPERIENCES This chapter describes the products and plants from three family-owned job-shops with short or very short production planning (4-30 days): small products frequently used for jewellery, stainless steel components for equipment fabrication, and thick mild steel for buildings and equipment.

3.1.1

SMALL JEWELLERY AND DECORATIVE COMPONENTS

A 15-employee company registered in 2000 operates a 1,400m2 plant with two CO2 laser cutting machines and a 100W Nd:YAG diode pumped laser marking machine, to produce flat components for jewellery, decorative items and food equipment, with a production planning time of up to 4 days. The cutting machines have 2kW and 3kW output power and are generally used respectively to cut 3,000mm x 1,500mm and 4,000mm x 2,000mm stainless steel plates normally in 2mm thickness, and less frequently because of market specialisation, exotic materials or thicknesses up to 20mm. The laser permits flexibility in terms of profiles, speed and quality, unachievable with traditional technologies. Accurate selection of cutting speed allows adequate finishing, possibly avoiding further grinding, brushing or polishing of the cut surfaces.

Figure 9: Laser cut pendants for jewellery (on the right)

Figure 10: small size laser cut components

After cutting, many items are marked with the Nd:YAG machine, which has a four-position indexing table, to add further features or traceability.

Figure 11: Laser cut and engraved component Of the 15 employees, 9 are involved in production and 6 cover the engineering, commercial and administrative functions. The cutting laser operator, the marking operator and the programmer have job-shop and technological expertise. They have attended OEM courses on safety and machine working and inhouse courses on production organisation. No formal engineering education is required for their jobs. CUTTING

11

Figure 12 depicts the job-shop lay-out:

Raw material (metal sheets) warehouse

Finished products area

Up and off loading automation

3,000mm x 1,500mm 2kW laser cutting machine including auxiliaries and safety devices

4,000mm x 2,000mm laser 3kW cutting machine and auxiliaries, including safety devices

Door

Way out
Marking machine Offices and services Offices and services

Figure 12: Lay out with two cutting machines

3.1.2

PARTS FOR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT

The production of metal components for light industrial equipment manufacturers is the daily activity of a 20 employee SME that operates four different pieces of CO2 laser equipment cutting 3,000mm x 1,500mm plates, in addition to other traditional sheet metalworking machines and welding workstations. The long tradition in the sector began in the late 1960s based on punching machines and guillotine shears, then CNC systems and, in 1989, the first laser cutting equipment. The experience and the product specifications steered the company to specialise their laser equipment according to materials and thicknesses. This required 30 day work plans. The company uses the laser equipment only 2,200 hours/year per station, and operates 1 shift/day. Being a supplier of OEM sub components, the SME stresses that a form of co-design between client and supplier or mutual education to design for laser manufacturing is necessary in order for the product to exploit the potentialities of the technology. The products consist of cut, bent and welded metal sheets in mild steel up to 25mm, in stainless steel to a maximum thickness of 15mm, in aluminium at 6mm, and in brass at 4mm, ready to paint. Cutting is also done on bent components; machining is outsourced. Laser machines cut an average 90% of all processed material, whether laser intensive, such as small parts, or materials intensive such as thick plates, while the remaining rectilinear profiles are cut by CNC punching machines.

12 CUTTING

Figure 13: laser cut stainless steel samples

Figure 14: laser cut item

The company has always purchased the latest and most powerful CO2 models, in order to achieve the highest speeds, thicknesses and flexibility and, at the time of the interviews, operated a 2.6kW, a 3kW, a 4kW and a 5kW machine, this last connected to an automated warehouse and loading system. The possibility for using different equipment in parallel enables knowledge to be accumulated in different materials and processes. Because of the high volume of material being processed and the intensiveness of laser cutting, the company utilises cylinders for lasing gases, packs of cylinders for cutting CO2 and a 5,000 litre nitrogen tank for cutting, all these costs being included in the laser evaluation.

Figure 15: lasing gas cylinders

Figure 16: cutting gas storage

The company relies on two high-school qualified mechanical technicians for nesting, programming and minor problem solving and on four specialised workers for up/off-loading, programme recall, and minor calibration procedures.

CUTTING

13

Figure 17 depicts the job-shop lay-out:

6 Punching, shears equipments and sheet metal warehouse waterjet

Semi-finished warehouse for bending

Stainless steel bending equipments and sheet metal warehouse

Welding workstations and welding robot

raw material (metal sheets) warehouse

Offices Finished products warehouse Finished products warehouse

Legend: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

2.6kW 3kW Automated warehouse 5kW 4kW N2 storage

3.1.3

CUTTING FOR FABRICATION

This is a 17-employee job-shop with experience gained over 10 years, from operating three laser machines, which uses a single standard 3kW CO2 machine to cut 90% of the metal needed to feed conventional bending and welding workstations. Production focuses on mild steel and stainless steel which is transformed from raw plates into components for equipment ranging from industrial washing to injection moulding, naval interior wall panels and other shaped profiles. The company cuts some 15 tons of metal/month and is now operating on a 15-day schedule compared to the previous 60-day schedule because global supply chains have steered the production towards less repeatable, more complicated, higher value added components with stretched lead times. The introduction of laser technology followed the use of more traditional guillotine shears and squares and brought a change in design for manufacturing, to exploit the potential of lasers for new product design. Mild steel is cut in thicknesses of between 0.8mm and 20mm while stainless steel plates range from 0.8mm up to 12mm. Key issues for the company are machine reliability and finishing, which is inversely proportional to cutting speeds. As a reference, the complete cycle for a profiled plate 700mm x 350mm x 6mm, such as that depicted in Figure 19: laser cut profile in mild steel for fabrication, is approximately 2 minutes.

14 CUTTING

Figure 18: fabricated frame from laser Figure 19: laser cut profile in mild steel for fabrication cut components The company has four managers responsible for commercial deals, purchasing, production planning and control, an administration staff, six welders, four punch and shearing machine operators, and three laser operators. The work division is flexible to enable the company to cope with several assignments. The laser staff includes a designer responsible for nesting, programming and bills of materials, a laser-machine operator who monitors programmes and production, and an off-loading operator assisted by automated up-loading which extends lasing-times to more than 10 hours per day. The laser team has extensive job-shop experience, familiarity with and interest in technology, and has been trained in a one-week OEM course; none of the team has any formal engineering education. Figure 21 depicts the various machines in the 2.000 m2 plant:
Welding workstations Bars and profiles warehouse

bending

bending

3 2

QC control and finished products warehouse

punching

Semifinished deposit for shears

Laser items: 1. Up-loading automation; 2. CO2 laser cutting machine; 3. Off-loading area and cutitem buffer

bending

bending

Metal sheet warehouse

Figure 20: Fabrication job-shop lay-out

CUTTING

shears

15

3.2

MARKING

OVERVIEW Laser marking is a relatively low cost operation. It is used to permanently inscribe on the surfaces of materials, graphic information, such as bar codes, alphanumerical tags, indicator lines in gauges, drawings, etc., using a laser beam. Its use to allow product traceability or provide information is growing. Laser marking can be a substitute for mechanical embossing, engraving, or printing processes. Laser marking permanently modifies the surface of a material. The laser emits short pulses (10200 nanoseconds) which make a disturbance (a single spot) on the surface that is visible when illuminated. A single spot is of small diameter, in the range 30-500 micrometers, and can become the element of a letter, a drawing or a graphic. The repetition of laser pulses is quite high, 10-100 kHz, and the position of the mark is directed by a pair of mirrors actuated by a computer controlled driver. In standard applications, the material surface is ablated by the laser beam when it reaches an energy density above the ablation threshold of the material: a small volume of the material is removed in vaporised state. A repetition of laser irradiation on a single spot results in a progressive engraving. Photochemically induced marking involves a permanent colour change, obtained by exceeding the degradation threshold temperature; the process is quieter and produces fewer pollutants. However, ablation is normally faster and deeper than photochemical induced marking. It is possible to utilise different types of marking lasers depending on the materials and the marking rate required. Solid state laser, such as Nd:YAG lasers, are best for marking metals and dark plastics, CO2 systems can be used to mark ceramics, transparent and organic materials. In the case of Nd:YAG lasers, a pump source using diode-laser or flash-lamp is required, depending on the power. The diode-pumping technology, which is a more recent technology, involves smaller equipment, lower maintenance costs, smaller power requirements, and less complicated cooling (air instead of water), but is usually limited to use with sources of about 20W of output power. CO2 lasers differ in terms of spot sizes which are larger. They are recommended for a variety of relatively soft materials such as wood and plastic. Marking speeds are proportionally slower when higher resolution is needed, and depending on the characteristics of the material being engraved. The OEM or resellers can advise on which equipment is best for each application.

16

MARKING

PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT Usually one person can operate and program a laser marking system. This individual would need some background in shop operations and some capabilities in the use of CNC systems. OEMs normally provide programming and safety training as a package with the marking system. Alternatively, an engineer could program the marking instructions and production staff could operate the equipment following the instructions provided. Depending on the manufacturer and the model, laser marking machines can process items weighing up to 100kg, and up to 1,000mm x 400mm x 750mm in dimension, which would cover a range of products including items of jewellery to bigger metal items or a series of smaller items properly aligned on a pallet.

Figure 21: marked metal coloured component

Figure 22: marked metal component

Depending on production needs, the marking laser can be integrated into an automated processing line in the case of high volume applications, or can be a standalone workstation. A standalone laser marking machine is quite small; a standard model requires a space of approximately 1,000mm x 1,000mm1,500 mm x 2,000 mm (height) and foundations capable of bearing 500kg weight or 800kg for larger three-phase equipment.

Figure 23: Detailed picture marked on plate In order to optimise operations, the system should be connected to a fume exhauster and filtering device in compliance with the safety regulations and positioned in an easy-to-load place with accessible and well organised feeding and stocking facilities. The marking process is programmable via user-friendly software and can be controlled either locally by the operator or remotely by an engineer across the company LAN. The most common two-phase systems consume less then 2kW power and deliver beam power ranging from 5W to 150W; three phase systems may require up to 5kW. In terms of investment, a mid size, standalone marking system could be in the range 50,000100,000 including the software and operator training in programming, use and safety, from a variety of marking system manufacturers. Companies also need to consider investment in a MARKING

17

vacuum system, modifications to shop floor lay-out to house the new operation and perhaps installation of a local area network (LAN) in the job-shop. Running costs will include maintenance (mainly filter cleaning, according to the load, and minimum annual laser maintenance), electricity costs, equipment depreciation and the cost of the loan (if any) for purchasing the system. Not all SMEs have a cost-accounting administration, and most estimate hourly costs with margins to cover all the above items. A ballpark laser marking costing might be: 88,300 + 11,700 = 100,000 / 5 years / 20,000 + 2,000 / Hypothetical equipment price including software and training Interests (with a 5 years loan at 5% interest rate) Total equipment cost Years of depreciation Yearly cost of asset Yearly quote of pumping diode substitution (10,000, 12.000 working hours, 2,400 working hours/year) One operators yearly working time Equipment cost

2,000 hours = 11

In addition to this, the entrepreneur should consider the following (depending on the Country) + (depending on the OEM + and the metals) (depending on the Country = and the Company) Total /hour 3.2.1 MARKING A CASE STUDY Electricity cost Maintenance cost Overhead costs Reference hourly cost used in budget calculations

In the case analysed, the production of components for the petro-chemical industry requires laser marking before assembly. The case study company is part of a large diversified group that produces industrial hoses and machined components and employs 22 highly qualified people. Operations include order processing, production planning and engineering and purchasing; most of the companys employees are engaged in the manufacturing and assembly areas, where the marking system is installed. There are seven product lines (valves and manifolds, pressure pneumatic transmitters, pneumatic/electronic level transmitters, air filter regulators and vibration switches) and more than 500 models in a list of about 5,000 components composed of stainless steel or exotic materials, such as titanium, hastelloy, incalloy 825, inconel 625, monel 400 and others, which are finally sold in the international market.

Figure 24: Marked instrument manifold

18

MARKING

The marking operation involves a small percentage (5%) of the production, and is used to provide traceability of components or to display information permanently. A diode pumped Nd:YAG 2kW machine is operated by a trained worker 8-10 hours/day, 6 days/week. This operator and two other workers run the whole quality control (QC)-testing, marking, assembly and shipment processes. Marking requires loading of up to six aligned items and then pushing the start button, which automatically closes a sliding door which is a safety feature. Processing takes between 6-10 seconds per item for photochemical marking and a further 2-3 seconds for the engraving cycle after which the items are offloaded. The marking process could be made more sophisticated by the addition of automated warehouse, materials handling, loading and off-loading systems.
Vacuum and filtering unit

Components ready for marking

Components ready for marking

Components ready for QC

Components ready for QC

Marking laser

Assembly, packaging and shipment area

QC test benches

QC test benches

Figure 25: Marking lay-out sketch

MARKING

19

Storage of marked components before

3.3

MANUAL LASER REFURBISHMENT OF DIES AND MOULDS

OVERVIEW Cracked moulds can cause problems in plastic injection moulding or metal die casting plants. They can be repaired using traditional welding technologies, such as Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG), or by deposit welding using by Nd:YAG lasers2 with a narrow filler wire; these repairs can be accomplished in-house or outsourced to job-shops. Laser and TIG can be considered to be complementary because of their different performance and hourly costs, which are higher for laser due to the higher initial investment, but have some benefits over TIG. For example: they do not require the mould/die to be heated before welding, which shortens the processing cycle; the heat affected zone (HAZ) is reduced because the sublimation and the cooling speeds are high; it is possible to weld in confined spaces (cavities, interfering contours); the post processing finishing takes less time due to the lasers finer welds. THE PRODUCT Laser deposit welding can be used to repair polymer injection moulds, pressure dies, punching and cutting tools, forging dies and blowing mould tools.

Figure 26: welded item

Figure 27: repaired mould

Figure 29: cross section of filler deposit Figure 28: welding in an inside edge Commercial systems can handle base materials of up to 64 Rockwell Hardness (HRC) and dimensions of 200mm x 200mm x 200mm to 500mm in length if the class I shields are open, which provides a much bigger working area (class IV). In the case of bigger work-pieces (e.g. 1,700mm x 1,800mm), it is possible to purchase a laser system comprising the laser source, a basement, a three axes mechanics and a laser head with no protective enclosure. In working areas (class IV), operators are required to wear laser-specific eye protection (goggles) suited to the wavelength applying; no other personnel should be within the radius of the laser beam dispersion. Moulds for class I machines can exceed 300kg.

A video of mould reparation can be found at

http://www.sitec.lecco.polimi.it/SitoSITEC_IT/video/powerweldHQ.htm

20 MANUAL LASER REFURBISHMENT OF DIES AND MOULDS

EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL Welding equipment used to repair moulds and dies is normally manual, using Nd:YAG laser sources of approximately 80-120W average output. Depending on the mould dimension, the shop-floor may decide to use class I systems with enclosures for small items, or class IV systems without enclosures for bigger items. In the latter case the operator must wear laser goggles suitable for Nd:YAG wavelengths of 1.064nm. Manual welding without filler wire can also be operated.

Figure 30: class I laser manual welder with open doors

Figure 31: mould repair with a class IV manual laser welder

Operators would normally sit: in front of the enclosed work table or piece, inspecting the welding area through a LCD screen or a magnifier, and controlling operations with a joystick. The operator can command a motorised focus adjustment, a temporal pulse-shaping to induce post welding annealing or can store a particular contour for repeat use (repeatability in standard 2D actuators may be as low as 20m). CAD drawings can be loaded in a variety of formats from those developed for CNC. Due to the possibility to use very thin filler wires ( 100m400m) and to the laser weld characteristics, post processing takes much less than with TIG. In terms of the plant conditions required to host the welding equipment, equipment with full enclosure, in safety class I, would occupy approximately 1,000mm x 1,000mm x 2,000mm and weigh in excess of 200kg. A larger station that is open and in safety class IV, would require at least 1,000mm x 2,000mm x 2,000mm and a load bearing base capable of 400kg plus the weight of the workpiece. Normally this equipment uses a three-phase energy supply at 400V with a recommended continuity group, and requires a deionised water cooling loop for the laser source. For the applications described above, the welding station should be installed on a ground floor. Insulation from vibration, for example, from traffic, railways, etc. is important; any strong vibration could affect the precision of the process. New manual laser welders that can be used for mould repairs cost in the range of 30,00080,000 at the time of the interviews. Among the running costs the main items are related to power use (about 1.6kW for a medium station), maintenance and filler wire - estimated at 1/hour and 200 for a 50m wire with 0,8mm1.2mm, respectively). The main consumables include laser-pumping lamps (250/5001,000 hours) and replacement deionised water filters (at least once a year) (200), to ensure maximum conductivity of 10-5 siemens/cm. The benefits related to production using laser and TIG versus the different costs of the two technologies will need to be weighed. A TIG workstation costs about 5,000 and has an hourly cost of 10 compared to 50 for laser. On the other hand, the laser processing is crucial in the case of delicate or precise welding: it enables much higher precision, much smaller thermal affected zone, and cheaper finishing costs. Moreover, small or complex weld positions are impossible to reach using TIG. Laser welding requires a certain level of process and metallurgic competence; therefore, it is recommended that operators have some welding experience.

MANUAL LASER REFURBISHMENT OF DIES AND MOULDS

21

3.4

LASER WELDING PROCESS

Section 2.3 described a laser welding application that is believed to be particularly suitable for SMEs because of its relatively low level of complexity and capital requirements. Laser welding is a relatively new process, and it is usually capital-intensive industries that use its high power applications. In processes based on fusion, lasers supply sufficient heat to melt the material, and subsequent solidification creates the joint. The melt material could comprise the two parts to be joined (joint welding) or a filler wire (deposit welding).

The amount of heat that is brought to the welding area has to be higher than the heat that is dissipated, which depends on the reflection coefficient of the material(s) and the laser wavelength. The transmission of heat inside the material is based on an effect known as keyhole. In keyhole welding, a high power density >106 W/cm2 produces metal plasma in the material, which enhances heat absorption and penetration. If there is insufficient power, the keyhole is not generated, heat is transferred by conduction only, and penetration does not occur. Lasers generate two types of plasma: metal vapour plasma, useful if it is inside the keyhole, harmful if it is above the material because it absorbs power; gas ionization plasma above the material, harmful because it absorbs power. These plasmas can be eliminated by a flow of blown gas during the process. This gas can be inert or capable of high-ionisation and serves two purposes: it covers and protects the melt pool and removes the plasma.
Figure 32: Reflection coefficient, wavelength, materials

The parameters (see Figure 36: influence factors) that must be considered in relation to laser welding are:

laser power, which determines the penetration depth and the welding speed (see Figure 33: temperature and welding section); welding speed, which determines the penetration depth (see Figure 35: speed, power and penetration);

22 LASER WELDING PROCESS

 type and flow of protection gas, which influence the quantity of plasma, the power required for the process, the penetration depth and the welding speed; focal point position, which determines the distribution of power in the material, the penetration depth, the joint width and the welding speed.

Figure 33: temperature and welding section

Figure 34: plasma generation

Figure 35: speed, power and penetration

Figure 36: influence factors

The most common types of joints accomplished by laser welding are: lap seam (see Figure 37: lap seam welding and Figure 38: lap welding cross section), butt welding (see Figure 39: T-joint schemes and Figure 40: T-joint cross section), T butt (see Figure 41: butt weld schemes and Figure 42: butt weld cross section).

LASER WELDING PROCESS

23

Figure 37: lap seam welding scheme

Figure 38: lap welding cross section

Figure 39: T-joint schemes

Figure 40: T-joint cross section

Figure 41: butt weld schemes ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LASER WELDING

Figure 42: butt weld cross section

The main advantages of laser welding are high penetration and speed, reduced HAZ and high precision and good final quality. On the other hand there are disadvantages, such as the need for complex and precise equipment, complex and expensive laser head motion, problems related to use of filler materials, and the very precise alignment of the joint profile and the beam. In terms of this alignment, a rule of thumb is one-tenth of the thickness with a maximum gap equal to 0.1mm along the profile. It is extremely important that the two parts are cut and coupled with strict tolerances and that the materials are carefully chosen. R&D in this area is ongoing; laser welding system sales reflect these disadvantages and are much lower than those for cutting or marking systems. 3D applications are mainly confined to capital intensive industries. ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES Comparison with other welding technologies can help in the choice of the most appropriate technology: the electron beam has high power density and penetration, but requires quite complex equipment that tends to incorporate little flexibility; TIG has good but lower than laser penetration, can be used manually and is less expensive in terms of equipment. The HAZ is normally wider than with laser;

24 LASER WELDING PROCESS

 Metal Inert Gas (MIG) and Metal Active Gas (MAG) have good penetration, but lower than laser, are less sensitive to the joint gap because they allow the use of filler materials, have a wider HAZ, can be used manually and are less expensive than lasers. MATERIALS Laser welding is used for particular materials. With stainless steel it provides good welding, quite good tolerance on technological parameters, good mechanical joint properties and does not require protective gas. Carbon steels are normally capable of being welded by lasers, provide less tolerance than stainless steel in terms of technological parameters, provide good mechanical joint properties, and are sensitive to oxides requiring welding to be done in an oxygen free atmosphere. They do not require the use of protective gas. Galvanised steels have similar characteristics to carbon steels in terms of suitability for laser welding with the addition that the zinc vapours are produced before the melting temperature of the steel is reached, which affects the weld pool. This problem is resolved by the introduction of a 0.1mm gap to facilitate vapour exhaust. Laser welding of aluminium allows is only possible for some alloys; the mechanical properties of joints are lower, welding speeds are high, and protective gas is required. APPLICATIONS, EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL Laser welding is common in the automotive sector for tailored-blanks and production of mechanical components including gears, and in the food and medical industries for aesthetic and precise welds. In the power range 3kW-4kW, five-axis CO2 laser equipment is suitable for welding items up to 1,500mm x 3,000mm x 500mm volume. This would require an investment of between 0.6-1 million, plus approximately 10% for installation and training. Welding masks and fixing tools depend on product design and flexibility required, and their costs can range from a few thousand Euro for simple items that can be produced internally, to hundreds of thousands of Euro for complex items. Where electricity supplies are not stable, adequate power infrastructures need to be in place (UPS, generators). It should be remembered that joints have to be designed for laser welding, which may require part or all of the existing engineering drawings to be reviewed. In terms of infrastructure and power supply, these welding lasers require voltage fluctuations of less than 10%, wall-plug power of up to 100kW, and gas purity similar to that for laser cutting equipment (see Section 3.1 CUTTING). Costs differ from country to country and are mainly related to power, gas supply (may be the same cost as for electricity but could be twice as much depending on the application and the materials), loading and off-loading operators, and depreciation. Capabilities in welding and laser welding in particular, are not as formalised as they are for laser cutting. Thus, practical experience is very important. Operators must be skilled or trained in CNC programming, in welding processes and in welding preparation and coupling. In the case of repeat products of simple design, learning to use the welding equipment may take months; additional training is needed if a new process needs to be engineered. Progressive training, from spot welding of flat rectilinear profiles to curved profiles, through polyhedron edge welding, might be the solution.

Figure 43: pump components

Figure 44: stainless steel container

LASER WELDING PROCESS

25

NON-METAL APPLICATIONS: TEXTILES, GLASS, AND OTHER

OVERVIEW Lasers are used in the manufacture of clothing and accessories, shoes and decorative items in non-metallic materials. Several new businesses are based on the use of commercial low-power laser systems for cutting and engraving fabric, leather, wood, paper and many other materials. If cutting activities predominate, a plotter cutting machine may be suitable for both cutting (at high speed) and marking (at slow speed). In the case that high marking productivity is required, then a plotter machine for cutting and a separate marking machine 10-30 times faster may be preferred, depending on available finance. The systems for this type of processing normally use CO2 laser sources with power ranging from 30W for low volume use to 400W for high volume or industrial use. The systems normally include the laser source, the mechanics for beam positioning, the software and the safety devices; some also include the vacuum and filtering unit and a range of other options. Full enclosure of the working area allows the equipment to be classified as safety class I, reducing the safety requirements in the workshop. These machines are easy to use and low maintenance since the only interface with the operator occurs in up-loading the raw material, uploading the drawing/pattern file, waiting for the work to be finished, and off-loading the finished product from the machine. Monthly maintenance to keep the machine in good operative condition should be scheduled. In terms of shop-floor requirements, as this is sealed-gas equipment, there is no need for high purity gas supplies. The main requirement is for a stable single phase 220V/110V energy supply. The sealed gas units can be recharged when the lasing gas is exhausted. The equipment is designed to work in a temperature range of 10C-40C and 10%-85% humidity. For higher power than 60W, the OEM may recommend water cooling and in the case of tropical environments, a chiller. In the case of low temperature environments, the laser source should not be allowed to freeze as this could permanently affect its operation. For the first shift of the day in the winter time, a warmup procedure may be needed, as indicated by the OEM. Power consumption depends on the laser output power, and the speed and thickness of the material, and will range between 1kW and 7kW. An area of approximately 1,500mm x 1,500mm x 1,200mm will be required to house the machine, depending on the model. It should be capable of bearing loads exceeding 300kg. Cut accuracy is about 0,1mm, repeatability <15m. In terms of writing speeds, the most advanced equipment can exceed 3m/s with accelerations of 8g with linear motors. THE PRODUCT Various materials can be processed by these lasers including: wood for wooden toys, customised furniture, veneers (see Figure 46: wood veneer), parquetry for mosaics; leather for shoes, bags and other fashion items (see Figure 45: clothing accessories). Cutting speeds can range from 50 to 100mm/s on leather of 2mm thickness; textiles, for decorative clothing (Figure 47: decoration on denim, this took 4 seconds with a 30W marking machine; to decorate one side of a pair of jeans could take up to 1 minute with a 100W machine), micro perforation for technical textiles; embroidery: in a production line, laser machines can cut the appliqu needlework after embroidering (see Figure 48: embroidery cutting); paper for stencils, piercing, papers for the printing industry; acrylic tissues;

26 NON-METAL APPLICATIONS: TEXTILES, GLASS, AND OTHER

 plastic and rubber for industrial product identification, decoration, gaskets, tampo-graphic clichs and rubber stamps; welding of transparent plastic parts, such as Plexiglas on opaque plastics; plastic components for electronics, such as polyester and polycarbonate membrane keyboards, phones. The dimensions of the raw sheets can be up to 1,200mm x 700mm, and can range in thickness from very thin to 200mm or more and up to about 25kg in weight. Although the equipment is flexible in terms of raw materials types and surface finishing, for some aspects it may be necessary to consult OEMs. For example, plastic items, such as PVC3 and PET, need special care because of health-hazardous vapours, e.g. dioxins, that are released in the laser process. It may be necessary to install special filters. Denim and some other textiles and flexible materials may need a vacuum table in order to keep them flat to enable accurate cutting and prevent fires. Laser marking can make the chemicals, such as disposable acids, used in traditional processing methods, redundant. It also guarantees better replication than mechanical wear-effect tools (which often were manual).

Figure 45: clothing accessories PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT

Figure 46: wood veneer

In terms of skills, operators must be able to use computers in order to load drawings and CAD systems in the case that a new design is required. Up/off-loading machine operators do not require any particular capabilities. In some cases, the equipment is configured the same as in a PC compatible printer. At the time of writing, a standard cutting plotter represented an investment of 10,000 for lowvolume low-power (25W output) applications or 70,000 for high speed cutting (for thick wood) (350W output). Marking equipment costs from 20,000 for 30W equipment to 100,000 for 350W plus equipment for specific applications; most of this cost is in the laser source. Installation and training probably involves two days and up to 1,000 depending on the distance of the OEM from the customers premises. Depending on the application, other investments might be considered worthwhile, e.g.: vacuum table for textiles, which would cost around 5,000; vacuum and filtering units, at a cost of 10,000 for the above mentioned power ranges (required where PVC, PET, ABS, chrome tanned leather or other heavy contaminants are involved); equipment enclosures with suitable materials to upgrade safety from class IV to class I, which could cost between 3,000 and 10,000, depending on the dimensions; water chilling units.

Some legislations do not allow processing of PVC because of the dioxins generated,

NON-METAL APPLICATIONS: TEXTILES, GLASS, AND OTHER

27

Running costs are mainly related to power, ranging from 1kW-7kW, and the hours of use, the duty cycle, the model, and the maintenance cycle. The latter includes: effective suction (and in certain cases, compressed air) is required to maintain the reliability of the machine. If contaminants are not removed this could reduce the life of the mechanical guides from two years to six months, involving approximately 1,500 investment per substitution; cleaning of filters at least once a year, and more often in the case of dusty applications and contaminating materials; daily or weekly cleaning of lenses and mirrors. Dirty optics and dust deposits can cause failures due to the laser not being completely reflected, causing overheating and damage to the material. New lenses cost 150-300; gas refills for the CO2 laser. Depending on the manufacturer and the model, in most low power laser sources, the gain medium is sealed and does not require to be refilled. For medium to high power, it should be refilled every 5,000-10,000 hours at a cost of around 2,000 (or every 20,000 hours at a cost of 15,000 for 30W equipment and 30,000 for 115W equipment). Some OEMs exchange exhausted tanks for full ones; others require the tank change to be carried out by one of their employees.

Figure 47: decoration on denim

Figure 48: embroidery cutting

28 NON-METAL APPLICATIONS: TEXTILES, GLASS, AND OTHER

4.1

FASHION MARKING

Lasers facilitate the adoption of new designs, interpretation of stylists ideas, unpredictable quantities and short time-schedules common to the fashion sector. This is the case in a small (3 employees) company, which uses eight CO2-laser machines to process a range of textiles including cotton, polyester and technical tissues for their customers. Graphic skills, speed, definition and know-how about materials and machine configuration, accrued through some 4-6 years of experience in the company enable the company to deliver prototypes and then produce in bulk according to a time schedule. The fashion sector has pronounced seasonality. In February, for instance, a stylist might bring a concept sample to be interpreted, designed and prototyped by March. Two months later, the company could receive orders in quantities ranging from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of items, required for delivery to retail shops in July. Unexpected repeat orders are quite common. To accommodate these, the company calls on the services of a pool of 20 temporary workers, with experience in using lasers. A graphic designer, a skilled machine operators and a stylist together decide on the best graphic file for laser production. Their know-how allows them to render the idea graphically, and define the appropriate configuration of laser power and speed to achieve the desired edge finishing, or the precisely-graduated wear-effect, with tight tolerances and high replication for bulk production.

Figure 49: graduated wear-effect on denim

Figure 50: composed pictures

Figure 51: marked golf with laser machining detail

Figure 52: holes in technical tissue

The following parameters are important for quality marking and cutting: flatness of the tissues on the working table, required for proper definition, and can be supported by a vacuum table although seams and pockets, etc. make complete evenness difficult to achieve; operating area width: the wider the area, the less defined the work with the same machine; material: a percentage of synthetic fibre improves cauterisation (thermo-welding) and reduces fraying; colour: thermal affected zones show up less on darker dyes. Colour changes resulting from laser treatment are more common in immersion-dyed and wire-dyed textiles. FASHION MARKING

29

Figure 53: marked hearts on thick tissue

Figure 54: cut and marked accessories

The power of equipment used for CO2 marking, ranges from 60W to 400W, enabling work surfaces of 250mm x 250mm up to coils of tissue bigger than 2,200mm. The marking equipment can also be used for cutting. The investment is largely proportional to laser source power and ranges from 100,000 to 250,000 per machine. The case company made its equipment purchases based on the expected market and products rather on power criteria.

Preparation area 1 5

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8: CO2 marking stations : individual buffers Quality control is carried out at each marking station by the operator

Temporary storage

Figure 55: Textile marking lay-out A typical SME investment decision process for laser equipment for the fashion industry would include: benchmarking equipment in terms of types of laser decorations. This could include typical wear effects, stripe-construction, image impression, and paper-model cutting. The equipment would likely require one operator and an area of 30m2-40m2; budgeting in relation to appropriate graphic workstations and software (normally commercial software is available). The area required for a graphic workstation and an operator would be approximately 25 m2; budgeting for the data sharing system, which could include a LAN (100Mb/s should be suitable for a SME but bigger operations might require 1000Mb/s) to connect the workstation, the laser and a server to archive the data typical of any material or process. Formalisation/codification of the know-how (materials, procedures, processing parameters) is more helpful than tacit knowhow which requires face to face transmission of knowledge; budgeting in time needed for training of operators and trials. The main running costs for lasers are related to electricity usage, replacement of lasing gas, and maintenance of optics and electronic components, which is carried out, machine by machine, while temporarily inoperative. This benchmarking may require companies to compare the outputs of three analyses:

30 FASHION MARKING

 monthly costs, such as the space rent, machine leasing (or loan and depreciation), staff costs, previous running costs, other costs (such as overheads), expressed as cost per second. Absolute costs will vary from country to country; however, estimates might be 45%-50% for the leasing instalments, 35%-40% for operators, 8%-15% for space rent, 5%-7% for maintenance and consumables; time and cost to finalise the graphics for typical decorations/works and to produce a lasered prototype. Based on the estimated cost per second and the time schedule for production, the cost per prototype, and the number of pieces per day and per month. Timing will be highly dependent on factors such as complexity and operator skills; however, a ball park figure might be 1 hour for a wear effect, 2 hours for a stripe-decoration, 3 hours for an image impression, and half an hour for paper-model cutting; average time and cost to produce typical products in batches or in series. Based on cost/second and time/piece, the cost of the product and the number of items per day or month can be calculated, based perhaps on more than one minute for the same wear effect as above, about 2.5 minutes for the stripe-decoration, about 6 minutes for the image impression, and between 3 and 12 minutes for paper-model cutting, depending on the technology.

FASHION MARKING

31

4.2

TEXTILE PATCH PRODUCTION

Inkjet printing and laser cutting allow SMEs to produce textile patches. Industrial embroidery is becoming more capital intensive in order to process sufficient volume competitively. Specialised machines with multiple embroidery heads that operate 24 hours/day and 7 days/week, combined with laser cutting heads, are capable of large volumes of outsourced production in globalised value chains. This greatly reduces the margins for SMEs that produce embroidery on a smaller scale. The SME has two alternatives: higher value added embroidery or inkjet plotted patches to be processed on the fabric or to be cut and applied afterwards. Sealed CO2 lasers can be used to support cutting and application for both embroidery and printed patches. Value added embroidery requires capabilities in terms of knowledge about the mechanical properties of the fabrics being coupled (e.g. a very tough patch could stretch the base material), resulting in the mechanical setting of the machine requiring frequent intervention. Investing in machines with laser heads coupled with embroidering heads will bring advantage because off line cutting solutions do not guarantee quality.

Figure 1: Embroidery with laser cutting In the case of embroidery with laser cutting, flexibility in changing the design (and machine setup) from one batch to another and the capability to produce complex designs are of fundamental importance and require fairly high level skills and good machine operation. An eight-head embroidering machine and related services will require one operator and 50m2 of space. Output in terms of embroidering should be 200 pieces/day.

Figure 2: embroided item

Figure 3: embroided and laser cut item

Inkjet patch printing and laser cutting are also low cost opportunities for SMEs. The investment required is significantly lower than for embroidering machinery, i.e. in the range 30,00050,000 rather than 100,000-150,000. The machines require the same amount of space i.e. 50m2, but the overall dimensions of the plant will be less than 300m2. The inkjet and laser systems can work on rolls of 1.5m width and produce up to 5,000 patches per day, which can then be applied by small hot-presses at a rate of 400500 pieces per day per operator. A small press costs approximately 2,000. SMEs may consider outsourcing batches of over 10,000 items to specialised suppliers, for delivery within say 30 days. At the time or writing, this was a lower cost option and allowed more flexible and more remunerative smaller batch operations in house.

32 TEXTILE PATCH PRODUCTION

Figure 4: printed, cut and applied patches

Figure 5: multicolour printed patch

Printing is also a simpler operation than embroidering for an SME as it is configured as a plotter to the PC and can be executed on the finished garment, providing the flexibility to cope with sudden variations in fashion or promotional demands (e.g. the launch of a new product, the opening of a new branch, special events). Given the innovation in fabrics, and in printing films and inks there is a big margin for experimentation. It is possible to program laser heads to contour patches and mark some design on the inside of the item. Before the introduction of the laser and the inkjet systems, the industry used serigraphy and shears that cut up to 20 layers overlapped, which provided much less flexibility. One skilled operator is required for the printing and cutting machine, one for graphic design and one for the hot-presses. A new printing and cutting operator, without formalised training, will take two years to become skilled in the job, involving much learning by doing and the associated costs; to learn the skills of embroiderer takes three years. In order to reduce these costs, SMEs may pay for operator training, perhaps in a more experienced company. Inkjet printing and a laser cutting system would add the following costs: 40%-45% for inks and print-base films, 20% for press personnel, and 20% for graphics personnel, 7%-8% for maintenance (in the case of embroidering this would be around 35%).

TEXTILE PATCH PRODUCTION

33

4.3

CRYSTAL PROMOTIONAL GADGETS

The promotional gadget industry customises items such as pens, folders, key holders, crystals, etc. with company names or logos, or personal images commemorating special occasions, e.g., anniversaries, inaugurations, new product launches and others, that occur throughout the year. Competition in standardised items and cheaper raw-materials (lead content less than 19%) has led to a margin-competition market, in which economy and premium products are differentiated. In our case firm, a 1999-registered-SME engraves 2D and 3D images inside crystals, showing software-graphic files or images of a person, if a scanner or multiple scanners - captures the input. Crystals can measure up to 200mm x 100mm x 100mm. Most of the time, graphic and laser machine operators work together on a 1 shift/day basis; at times of peak demand personnel numbers increase and work occurs in a two or three shift operation. Figure 6: 3D Engraved crystals

The company relies on four diode-pumped green and infrared Nd:YAG machines with 7-8W peakpower that can accommodate 1,000 points/second up to 3,000 points/second. Depending on the item design and the machine model, the engraving cycle can last from 1-20 minutes. A laser machine can engrave one item per session or multiple items using a moving 400mm x 600m worktable and automatic loading and off-loading devices. The investment required for such equipment at the time of writing, ranges from 50,000 to 250,000. Key parameters are the power, the speed, the temperature and humidity of the environment, and the raw materials. Raw material composition, which can vary from lot to lot, influences the configuration of the machine and the duty cycles; in the absence of certification of the composition, in order to avoid cracks in the crystals, a series of trials will be necessary before starting production.

34 CRYSTAL PROMOTIONAL GADGETS

LASER INSPECTION

OVERVIEW Laser inspection is a visual verification and checking on 2D and 3D parts through a laser scan that collects hundreds or even thousands of points per second with a certain degree of accuracy (in commercial devices 0.05mm) and can digitise an image that can be compared with a CAD drawing. The technology is also suitable for reverse engineering. 3D laser scanning is suitable for dimensional inspections, for instance, in automotive chassis, in cast parts, such as engines or for weld checks/tracking in pipes. Commercial technologies can scan a complicated automotive 50mm x 20mm shaped metal-sheet item with holes, in 4 minutes collecting 1.6 million points in this timeframe. This chapter discusses flat part inspection directly on the shop-floor, on-line or off-line, in which the laser scan compares the item with the form and the tolerances required by the CAD. The technology enables significantly shorter inspection times (and therefore lower costs of machine downtime) than other optical or coordinate measuring systems, the possibility to get automated statistical process control reporting and the possibility to reverse engineer parts. Normally checks are carried out on first article inspection in the first batch to reveal any design, tooling or other problems, enabling reconfiguration before main production thereby reducing scrap costs. This type of equipment requires stable 220/110V electric power and a LAN to load CAD drawings, involving investment of the order of 70,000. Training personnel on software and machine use takes approximately 3 days. In terms of running costs maintenance consisting of cleaning and periodic substitution of the glass surface is the most expensive, and could be up to several hundred Euros per month, cleaning projector filters and in some cases re-calibration are required once a month. Commercial systems do not require programming and self-calibrate at each check. Experience shows that payback is around 1-2 years. 2D commercial devices scan with a visible laser diode beam at power in the range of mW, taking approximately 500 points per second, and an inspection cycle of seconds or minutes. The parts typically requiring inspection are the opaque components (in metal, plastics, paper products, composite materials, rubber, cork, vinyl, felt, leather and fabrics), which are less than 2,440mm x 1,220mm with thicknesses up to 200mm and weighing up to 130kg. Where the piece is wider than the standard worktable, it is possible to merge multiple inspections carried out by a single scanner or multiple scanners.

Figure 7: 2D laser inspection equipment

LASER INSPECTION

35

LOOKING AHEAD

Lasers are a standardised technology in many manufacturing contexts; their use could increase depending on how well they answer certain economic needs. These can be summarised as reducing energy consumption (higher efficiency), lower maintenance costs (e.g. by improved optic alignment), lower level financing (lower initial capital cost) and lower facilities costs (cooling, floor space). The more mature CO2 and lamp-pumped Nd:YAG technologies will continue to undergo improvement to meet these demands. However, it is expected that other technologies such as fibre lasers, diode lasers, diode pumped Nd:YAG and disc lasers will be more efficient and will progressively erode the market share of these two technologies in areas such as welding and cutting, and will enlarge the spectrum of applications to 3D remote welding, micro-welding and processing and portable processing.

36 LASER INSPECTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Below is a list of some useful reference works on lasers for materials processing: 1. Laser Institute of America LIA Handbook of Laser Materials Processing, Orlando: Magnolia Publishing, (2001). 2. John Powell, Laser Cutting, London: Springer Verlag, (1998). 3. Walter Koechner, Solid-State Laser Engineering, Springer (1996). 4. Dieter Schuoker, High Power Laser in Production Engineering, (1999). 5. Walter W. Duley, Laser Welding, John Wiley & Sons inc. (1999). 6. Orazio Svelto, Principles of Lasers, (V ed.), Plenum Press (1999). The following articles appear in major scientific and specialist commercial magazines or on university websites. Many are subject to copyright and can be purchased over the internet or obtained through the local university library system or through the German National Library of Science and Technology (Technische Informationsbibliothek Universittbibliothek Hannover, http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/) at nominal cost. A summary of each article is provided at the end of this list, which may be useful if access to internet or university database is not easy. Table 1: year-sorted reference articles ID 1 TITLE Laser marketplace 2007: diode laser market takes a breather Laser marketplace 2007: laser industry navigates back to profitability Laser versus labour Non traditional machining applications YEAR AUTHOR SOURCE LaserFocusWorld magazine LaserFocusWorld magazine Fabricating and Metalworking magazine Dipartimento di Innovazione Meccanica e Gestionale DIMEG, Universit degli Studi di Padova LaserFocusWorld magazine Optics and laser Europe magazine Photonics Spectra LaserFocusWorld magazine LaserFocusWorld magazine 2007 Robert V. Steele Summary page 41

2007 Cathy Kincade; Stephen Anderson 2007 Tim Heston 2007 DIMEG

41

3 4

43 43

5 6 7 8 9

Elliptical beam speeds laser cutting Laser water jet cools and cuts in the material world New laser export controls set to take effect Laser marketplace 2006: diode doldrums Laser marketplace 2006: markets messages are mixed

2007 2007 Jacqueline Hewett 2007 Breck Hitz Leoma 2006 Robert V. Steele 2006 Cathy Kincade; Stephen Anderson

43 43 43 44 44

BIBLIOGRAPHY

37

ID

TITLE

YEAR

AUTHOR

SOURCE International Journal of Production Research Welding design and fabrication magazine Welding design and fabrication magazine Cutting tool engineering magazine Machine Vision On-line

10 Integrated sheet-metal production planning for laser cutting and bending 11 Fibre lasers make their mark 12 Metal cutting at light speed 13 Super saver laser 14 3D advanced technologies inspection make food inspection palatable 15 Development of a technology of two-beam laser welding and fullsize tests of oil and gas transmission pipes 16 Fibre lasers: emerging in major markets 17 Cost forecasting model for order-based sheet metalworking 18 A plan for productivity. Laser cutting and welding shops fight tough competition 19 Laser like focus. 2-D and 3-D laser cutting machines add value to shops 20 Very focused 21 Impact of industrial needs on advances in laser technology 22 Trends in laser material processing for cutting, welding, and metal deposition using carbon dioxide, direct diode, and fibre lasers 23 Fabrication of 3-D components by laser aided direct metal deposition 24 Development and trends in laser welding of sheet metal

2006 B. Verlinden, D. Cattrysse, D. Van Oudheusden 2006 Kimberley Gilles 2006 Richard Mandel 2006 Daniel Margolis 2006 Winn Hardin

Summary page 44

45 45 45 45

2006 AG Grigor Yants, AN and NV Grezev, IA Romanov, VI Kazachkov, FD Nuriakhmetov, VN Goritskii 2005 Bill Shiner 2005 A. Bargelis; M. Rimasauskas 2005 Charles Bates

Welding international

46

IPG photonics Corporation The 2005 photonics handbook Proceedings of Institution of Mechanical Engineers Welding design and fabrication magazine Cutting Tool Engineering magazine Metalworking production magazine Critical Review: industrial lasers and applications. Proceeding of the SPIE vol. 5706 Critical Review: industrial lasers and applications. Proceeding of the SPIE vol. 5706 Critical Review: industrial lasers and applications. Proceeding of the SPIE vol. 5706 Sheet Metal 2005, Proceedings of the 11th conference

46 46 47

2005 Susan woods

47

2005 Andy Sandford 2005 Paul Denney

47 47

2005 Wayne Penn and the Alabama Laser Team

48

2005 Jyotirmoy Mazumder, Huan Qi 2005 F. Vollertsen

48

48

38 BIBLIOGRAPHY

ID

TITLE

YEAR

AUTHOR

SOURCE Sheet Metal 2005, Proceedings of the 11th conference Micromachining and microfabrication process technology, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 5715 Tooling and Production magazine Design engineering magazine LaserFocusWorld magazine Industrial Laser Solutions magazine Photonics Spectra LaserFocusWorld magazine VIMs 2002 International Symposium on Virtual and Intelligent Measurement System proceedings ICS UNIDO publication

25 High-power fibre lasers Application potentials for welding of steel and aluminium sheet material 26 Small devices manufacturing by copper vapour lasers 27 Fabrication flexibility. At Work in Brazils no-till zone 28 Let there be light 29 Machine vision guides lumber cutting 30 Material processing with fibre lasers 31 CO2 lasers make the cut 32 Fibre lasers grow in power 33 Towards real-time quality analysis measurement of metal laser cutting 34 ICS lectures on industrial application of lasers 35 Laser applications in electronics and optoelectronics industry in Japan 36 Laser cutting: industrial relevance, process optimisation and laser safety 37 High power fibre laser

2005 C. Thomy, T. Seefeld, F. Vollertsen 2005 S. G. Gorney, I. V. Polyakov, M. O. Nikonchuk 2004 2004 John Excell 2004 Yvon Bouchard, Philip Colet 2003 Ruediger Hack 2003 Holger Schlter 2002 Valentin Gapontsev, William Krumpke 2002 Cesare Alippi, Vincenzo Bono, Vincenzo Piuri, Fabio Scotti 2000 N. U. Wetter, W. De Rossi, F. Grassi, W.M. Steen, Spero Penha Morato 1999 Kunihiko Washio

Summary page 49

49

49 49 49 50 50 50 51

51

1998 H. Haferkamp, M. Goede, A. Von Busse, O. Thrk

1991 V.P. Gapontsev; L.E. Samartsev

SPIE conference on laser applications in microelectronic and optoelectronic Part of the opto-contact workshop on technology transfers, start-up opportunities and strategic alliances, Qubec, Canada Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics; USSR Academy of Science

51

51

52

BIBLIOGRAPHY

39

8 SOURCES OF INFORMATION USERS OF LASER SYSTEMS COMPANY APPLICATION LOCATION 1 A4ricami Srl Embroidery and textile patch production Correzzola (PD), Italy www.a4ricami.it 2 Cantuna Cut Srl Metal sheet laser cutting and marking Pieve DAlpago (BL), www.axprofessional.it and tooling production Italy 3 Demont Srl Promotional items Bassano del Grappa www.demontpromo.com (PD), Italy 4 Inox Veneta SpA Laser cut food and beverage production San Giacomo in Veglia www.inoxveneta.it plant components (TV), Italy 5 Laser Style Italia Srl Marking and cutting on textiles Fanzolo di Vedelago www.laserstyleitalia.it (TV), Italy 6 Lorenzin Srl Metal sheet laser cutting, bending, and Sandrigo (VI), Italy welding 7 M.C.M. Srl Metal sheet laser cutting and fabrication Casalserugo (PD), Italy 8 MED Srl Health Technologies engineering and Maser (PD), Italy www.ideamed.net manufacturing 9 Omesa Srl Metal sheet laser-cutting, bending and Brendola (VI), Italy www.omesa.com welding Petrochemical industry instruments OEM Reschigliano (PD), 10 SAMI-Instruments Srl www.samiItaly instruments.com 11 TEC-SIM Srl Pharmaceutical and chemical plant Silea (TV), Italy www.tec-sim.com components 12 Zero Seven Studio Laser Consultancy and Integration www.zeroseven.it MANUFACTURERS OF LASER SYSTEMS COMPANY APPLICATION 1 Prima Industrie SpA Laser cutting, welding and marking http://www.primaindustrie.com/ 2 Rofin Lasers for industry www.rofin.com 3 Sei SpA Laser cutting and marking www.seilaser.com 4 Sisma SpA Laser systems and laser sources for www.sisma.com jewellery 5 Trotec Laser cutting, marking and engraving www.trotec.net UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT 1 University of Padova, Department of Information Engineering www.dei.unipd.it 2 Polytechnic of Milan, SITEC www.sitec.lecco.polimi.it/

LOCATION Collegno (TO), Italy Hamburg, Germany Curno (BG), Italy Schio (VI), Italy Marchtrenk, Austria

SERVICE LOCATION Research, Graduate and Post-Graduate Padova, Italy Education, R&D Services Research, Graduate and Post-Graduate Lecco, Italy Education, R&D Services

40

9 ANNEX: SUMMARIES OF ARTICLE The following paragraphs provide summaries of the articles in Table 1: year-sorted reference articles at page 37. The summaries do not conflict with copyright or constitute plagiarism. 1. Laser marketplace 2007: diode laser market takes a breather By Robert Steele, published in Laser Focus World in February 2007, downloaded at : http://www.laserfocusworld.com/display_article/283868/12/ARTCL/none/n one/LASER-MARKETPLACE-2007:-Diode-laser-market-takes-a-breather The 2006 diode-laser market had mixed results The diode laser for optical storage applications had a downturn due to a maturing market and decreasing prices. On the other hand, most of the other applications, including high-power-diode applications, experienced moderate growth. In terms of revenue, following three years of steady growth, the market declined from US$3.23 billions in 2005 to US$3.10 billions in 2006. In terms of volume, there has been a 5% increase, with 815 million diode lasers shipped in 2006 especially in consumer optical-storage applications confirming growing demand, but at lower prices. In 2006 a new generation of high capacity optical storage technologies, HD-DVD and Blu-ray, was introduced. In telecommunication lasers, growth occurred in every segment: long-haul, metro and access. Tuneable lasers saw rapid growth. Average power and sales of pumping lasers increased while unit prices decreased and another two years of good results was expected. Fibre laser pumping diodes showed huge increase with 90% of the market going to IPG Photonics. The article describes the market situation for other applications (LAN, bar code scanning, sensing, entertainment, inspection and measurement) and diode-laser products and configurations and describes the methodology used to collect the data.

2.

Laser marketplace 2007: laser industry navigates back to profitability By Kathy Kincade and Stephen Anderson, published in Laser Focus World in 2007, downloaded at: http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/282527 The 2006 worldwide laser business was surprisingly strong thanks, in large part, to better-than-expected performance by the semiconductor industry and the rebound of optical telecommunications. Non-diode laser sales grew 11% while a general positive unit growth for diode lasers was offset by generally declining prices with -4% in sales. A total market of US$6 billion with an 8% revenue increase for all lasers was forecast for 2007. A fluctuating monetary situation and renewed interest venture capital in optics and photonics-related ventures will affect the future market. The European market grew by 12%15% particularly in Germany, Benelux, the UK and Italy, but also in several Eastern European countries. The Asian market continues to represent great potential for laser and photonics, with China considered to be more a producer than a consumer. Important issues are the progressive displacement of non-diode-lasers by diode-lasers from medical therapy to the graphic arts, the growth of solid-state lasers, the challenge from fibre-lasers, which grew 55% in terms of revenues between 2005 and 2006 and continue to erode the market for lamp- and diode-pumped solid state lasers. Growth in semiconductor manufacturing shows promise for the optoelectronics industry while material-processing high-power (around 6kW) CO2 lasers as well as laser marking systems grew by about 10% reaching US$1.7 billion in 2006. The article reports the situation in the market for lasers for scientific research, instrumentation, image recording, entertainment and display and

41

military and aerospace applications. There is a description of how the data were collected.

42

3.

Laser versus labour By Tim Heston, published in Fabricating and Metalworking in 2007, downloaded at : http://www.fandmmag.com/print/Fabricating-andMetalworking/Laser-versus-Labor-/1$219 The article discusses optimising job-routines, planning and bottlenecks through investment in automation and equipment as part of lean manufacturing. Investing in high-end equipment can reduce bottlenecks and optimise flows. Skilled machine operators represent value added, reflected in the normally increasing wages versus equipment depreciation and increasingly tougher market competition. It is necessary for job-shops to analyse operator tasks when machines are operating to avoid skilled operator time being spent on low-end activities. For instance, material handling and tool change-out can be achieved by automatic specialised nozzle-lens changes. Instead of focusing on cutting speeds, job shops should look at how many parts can be completed within a certain time, which will be increased with the application of automated materials handling, automated tool change and especially by a good manufacturing plan from estimation to delivery, through scheduling, production, post process inspection. Many job-shops have moved to 3D laser cutting, a smaller but higher margin market that can complement 2D works.

4.

Non traditional machining applications By the Department of Innovation in Mechanics and Management of the University of Padova, Italy, downloaded at: http://www.dimeg.unipd.it/didattica/tecme4/8_Non_conventional.pdf The text is part of a university course in Mechanical Technologies and discusses elements of so-called non-conventional-machining technologies. The presentation encompasses: applications, and many types of machining including laser, chemical, thermo-chemical, ultrasonic, water-jet, abrasive-jet, electric discharge, electron beam and electro-chemical machining and grinding. The text provides a schematic illustration of the laser machining process, the applications, the characteristics, and advantages and disadvantages.

5.

Elliptical beam speeds laser cutting Published in Laser Focus World in January 2007 downloaded at: http://www.laserfocusworld.com/display_article/282651/12/ARCHI/none/N Brea/Elliptical-beam-speeds-laser-cutting The article focuses on a specific commercial application to accelerate silicon wafer cutting. The elliptical beam enhances cutting speeds by 3 to 4 times from 16.7mm/s to 62mm/s.

6.

Laser water jet cools and cuts in the material world By Jacqueline Hewett and published in Optics and Laser Europe magazine in March 2007, downloaded at: http://optics.org/cws/article/industry/27415 The article focuses on a commercial application that directs a laser beam into a thin water-jet technology to cut, drill and dice materials as varied as gallium arsenide and polycrystalline diamond. The advantages are no heat-affected zones, parallel kerfs and the ability to cut thick and hard materials. The water jet cools the work piece between laser pulses and expels molten materials from the cut.

7.

New laser export controls set to take effect

43

By Breck Hitz of LEOMA and published in Photonics Spectra magazine in January 2007, downloaded at: http://www.photonics.com/content/spectra/2007/January/features/86091. aspx The article describes recent changes to the Wasenar export controls compared to the early 1990s. These export controls are aimed at potentially critical military laser applications. The article lists the countries that have signed up to the Wasenar agreement and the criteria for free-export vs licensed-lasers such as power, wavelength, and overall efficiency.

8.

Laser marketplace 2006: diode doldrums By Robert V. Steele and published in Laser Focus World magazine in February 2006, downloaded at: http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/248128 The article describes the diode laser market situation in 2006. Although several segments, particularly telecom and high-power applications, have gained, price erosion has restrained revenue growth for the optical-storage segment after a flat 2005. The diode market in 2005 was US$3.23 and represented 59% of total commercial laser revenues, the most important applications being for optical storage (54%). For 2006, moderate growth (9%) was expected for all applications including telecommunications. The article gives detail on optical storage, telecommunications, high-power diode applications, and others. It describes the laser products and configurations and how the data were collected.

9.

Laser marketplace 2006: markets messages are mixed By Kathy Kincade and Stephen Anderson, published by Laser Focus World in January 2006, downloaded at: http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/245112 The article describes the laser market situation in 2005 with low overall growth masking some strong performance. The laser industry is considered to be maturing, but still at an early stage. Growth is due more to new applications than to increased volumes. Some system manufacturers registered major increases over 2004 (more than 14% revenues). The semiconductor market has stalled, although sales of flash memories are encouraging. China continues to experience two-digit growth in most sectors including both production and consumption of low-cost laser and laser systems for domestic industrial applications such as marking and fabric cutting. Europe has not fared as well as expected with only a 3% growth in the machinery sector in 2005. Industrial materials processing (primarily metalworking and marking) have done better. Fibre lasers in general grew 53% on 2004 levels, and +47% from 2005 to 2006 (forecast). Fibre lasers for industrial applications grew by 33%, of which more than 75% was at the expense of mainly lamp-pumped Nd:YAG; the CO2 market (mainly for sheetmetal and plate cutting) which was not feeling the impact from fibre. The article describes the medical therapy, basic research, instrumentation, image recording, entertainment, military/aerospace laser segments and outlines the methodology used to collect the data.

10.

Integrated sheet-metal production planning for laser cutting and bending By B. Verlinden, D. Cattrysse and D. Van Oudheusden and published by the International Journal of Production Research in January 2007, downloaded at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/. The paper discusses the need to reduce scrape material in 2D cutting and the time-consuming set-ups for 3D bending through the use of an integrated production planning model. The single optimised nesting of parts may require

44

additional setups at the press-brake while the proposed model integrates the creation of feasible grouping of parts and the minimisation of the number of set-ups at the press-brake. The total execution time reduction is expected to exceed 4%, representing an average annual saving of about 10 days.

11.

Fibre lasers make their mark By Kimberley Gilles, published in Welding Design and Fabrication in September 2006, downloaded at http://www.weldingmag.com/323/GlobalSearch/Article/False/31981/. The article describes the characteristics and advantages of commercial fibre lasers for marking: high contrast, permanent product identification, and little processing debris. The text reports the improvements brought by the fibre laser to power and beam quality, and the advantages of laser marking. It discusses the lower levels of debris generated in the marking process when using fibre lasers compared to Nd:YAG systems. Other advantages of fibre lasers are small spot size, high beam quality, and compact size. Commercial fibre lasers can avoid distortions - even cutting, welding and marking within 0.1mm. The duration of water cooled fibres is within the 400,000 hours span. However, these lasers are more sensitive to ambient temperature than lamppumped lasers.

12.

Metal cutting at light speed By Kimberley Gilles, published in Welding Design and Fabrication magazine in September 2006, downloaded at http://www.weldingmag.com/323/GlobalSearch/Article/False/31981/. The article gives an overview of the spread of commercial laser technologies for cutting in mid and high volume production shops based on the standards achieved in the technology. In spite of a high initial capital investment, the laser achieves higher speeds and reduces overall production costs, bringing a series of advantages: no tooling, no lubrication, no contaminants, high precision, replication and the possibility to cut abrasive, sticky and very hard materials. Most laser cutting technologies use CO2 and Nd:YAG as the lasing medium. This article reports on the types of cutting systems: flying optics, hybrid and pivot beam. The current equipment operates at 1,000 2mm diameter holes spaced 3.175mm in a piece of 1.016mm mild steel in 1 minute. Lasers can be fitted to industrial robots for 3D cutting with best results in drawing stampings, and cutting hydro formed tube sections in the range of 0.5mm to 5 mm. There is a trend for fibre lasers to progressively replace CO2 and Nd:YAG in industrial applications.

13.

Super saver laser By Daniel Margolis, published in Cutting Tool Engineering magazine in February 2006, downloaded at http://www.ctemag.com/archived.articles.search.php. The article is about commercial marking solutions. Laser marking systems range between US$35,000 and US$150,000, and prices are reducing, vs US$10,000 for an inkjet printer. However their advantages include: permanent marking, higher graphical adaptability, easier control, no consumables, no surface degradation, 15 minutes training, and user friendly software. Laser marking systems can be installed in computer numeric control (CNC) systems to carry out more operations in parallel. The article reports on a series of marking manufacturers and forecasts a transition from the ink-jet to the laser system.

14.

3D advanced technologies inspection make food inspection palatable

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By Winn Harding and published by the Machine Vision Online magazine in August 2006, downloaded at http://www.machinevisiononline.org/public/articles/archivedetails.cfm?id=2 827. The article is on commercial solutions to automatically inspect and analyse organic products from lumber to chicken, which vary from unit to unit. Traditionally 2D vision systems have been used, but new applications are emerging that require more data at higher speeds. In response to the need for precise volumetric measurements, new commercial solutions combine 3D laser measurement systems with 2D visual inspection systems in order to meet the progressively stricter visual requirements for packaged food and to optimise food production processes. A series of solutions focus on meat portioning and quality assurance and there is an increasing need for inspection of traditional food processing such as baking, fruit and vegetable sorting. Colour systems can improve the contrast in 2D food inspection.

15.

Development of a technology of two-beam laser welding and full-size tests of oil and gas transmission pipes By AG Grigor Yants, AN and NV Grezev, IA Romanov, VI Kazachkov, FD Nuriakhmetov, VN Goritskii and published by the Machine Vision Online magazine in August 2006, downloaded through TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/. The authors developed a technology with two beams at IPLIT, the Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in order to solve the problems generated by the extreme hardness of the metal in the welded joints in pipe steels not suitable for standard TU 14-3-1270-2001 and the cold Nordic temperatures (60C). The two beams are combined in a single vapour gas channel. The experimental results show that a range of distances can be maintained between focusing spots. With an 8kW laser it is possible to weld 8mm thicknesses with filler wire and 12mm without filler wire. The article describes the different metallurgic structure of the welded joint areas and reports that the property of the metal in the condition of bi-axial loading is stable.

16.

Fibre lasers: emerging in major markets By Bill Shiner, published as an IPG Photonics Corporation technical papers in 2005, downloaded at http://www.ipgphotonics.com/tp_fibre_laser_markets/resource_technical_de livery.htm The article describes modern commercial fibre lasers in terms of composition, types (single mode, continuous and modulated, Raman shifted, Q-switched, frequency doubled and tripled), output and wavelengths (from a few to a dozen kilowatts with single mode lasers covering from UV through visible to near-infrared spectrum), pumping and lifetime (high power diode bars and single emitter pump diodes, from 10,000h to 200,000 hours), cooling (air or tap water), and beam quality. The article reports on materials processing applications of fibre lasers (including automotive welding and cutting, sintering, marking, scribing, drilling and heat treating) and their advantages (constant beam profile, no warm-up, micron-sized spots, high speeds and weld penetration, compact size, wide range of applications due to the different wavelengths, no maintenance).

17.

Cost forecasting model for order-based sheet metalworking

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By A. Bargelis and M. Rimasauskas, published in Proceedings of Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 2005, downloaded through TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/. The article describes a cost forecasting method for order-based sheet metalworking in a context of competition, falling prices and globalisation. The article compares traditional manufacture (dies and presses) with rapid manufacturing technologies such as CNC punching and laser cutting. The article reports that the laser method has a margin of error between 1% and 15.5% and that it is easily applicable. Moreover, it accelerates cost forecasting for commercial offers by 2-3 times and can be applied in both industry and research processes.

18.

A plan for productivity. Laser cutting and welding shops fight tough competition By Charles Bates, published in Welding Design and Fabrication magazine in 2005, downloaded at http://www.weldingmag.com/323/Issue/Article/False/11005/ The article reports on existing shops that invest in the latest technology and automation and strive to improve the overall manufacturing process and interpretation of customers needs. However, buying the most powerful and speedy lasers is not the solution to all problems and job-shop capability is very important in resolving a wide range of manufacturing problems and translating customer needs by involving them in the design phase.

19.

Laser like focus. 2-D and 3-D laser cutting machines add value to shops By Susan Woods in Cutting Tool Engineering magazine, October 2005, downloaded at http://www.ctemag.com/pdf/2005/0510-lasercutting.pdf. The article reports on the main industries that use commercial 2D and 3D laser cutting, i.e. automotives (about 50%-60%), agricultural and construction machinery, aerospace and steel processing centres, and the medical industry this last being a new outlet. Users range from small-shops to Tier 1 producers or automotive makers. The text describes some basic elements of laser cutting such as materials (mainly mild steel, aluminium, stainless steel and titanium), thicknesses and cutting speeds (for 2D: up to 48.26mm/s with 0.5mm-3mm thickness on steel, for 3D: 18mm in mild steel, 6mm in aluminium, 8mm in stainless steel and titanium), tolerances (most manufacturers hold 0,0508mm to 0,1016mm in sheet metal), and gas assistance. It reports on the advantages that make lasers worth the investment (no tooling costs or changes, no tool wear, repeatability, little fixturing, finer finishing, touch free, and flexibility).

20.

Very focused By Andy Sandford in the Metalworking production magazine in October 2005, downloaded at http://www.ctemag.com/pdf/2005/0510-lasercutting.pdf. The article provides information about the Association of Industrial Laser Users, on its 10th anniversary. The association originated in a EU Eureka project in the early 1990s and disseminates information from the countries of Europe, organises seminars on laser applications, deals with enquiries and questions about aspects of laser processing and works to educate the subcontracting industry that lasers can be used in small job shops as well as big organisations.

21.

Impact of industrial needs on advances in laser technology By Paul Denney, published in the Critical Review: industrial lasers and applications. Proceeding of the SPIE vol. 5706, in 2005, obtained via TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/.

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The article reports on the diffusion and acceptance of lasers for cutting, drilling, heat treating, welding, etc. The most popular applications are CO2 and Nd:YAG, which have proved useful in almost all types of manufacturing facilities. The barriers to their acceptance are: efficiency, maintenance, investment cost, facility costs. Technological limitations will prevent lasers from undergoing radical innovations, and new developments (fibre lasers, disc lasers) will progressively replace them. New applications will be developed such as 3D remote welding, micro-welding and micro processing, portable processing. The article provides cost benchmarks.

22.

Trends in laser material processing for cutting, welding, and metal deposition using carbon dioxide, direct diode, and fibre lasers By Wayne Penn in the Critical Review: industrial lasers and applications. Proceeding of the SPIE vol. 5706, 2005, obtained via TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/. The article predicts trends in CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers and the newer fibre lasers, highlighting that these last, although representing a quantum shift, are not expected to replace the previous two lasers in certain industrial applications (CO2 because of its safer wavelength and lower investment cost and Nd:YAG because of its high power pulse). The article describes the types of CO2 (conventional, axial and transverse flow, diffusion cooled) and diode lasers and fibre lasers. Cutting, welding and metal deposition applications are analysed in relation to both technologies and future trends are discussed.

23.

Fabrication of 3-D components by laser aided direct metal deposition By Jyotirmoy Mazumder, Huan Qi and published in the Critical Review: industrial lasers and applications. Proceeding of the SPIE vol. 5706, 2005, obtained via TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/. The article describes the Direct Metal Deposition system, which can fabricate three dimensional components directly from CAD drawings by delivering various powder metals through the laser nozzle. The system eliminates intermediate machining and considerably reduces final machining. The interaction between the laser and the metal powder allows the materials microstructure to be tailored or new materials with advanced properties to be created. Key application parameters are build rate and envelope, the ability to make parts out of different materials, dimensional accuracy and minimum feature size. The system was first commercialised in 2005, can be integrated in currently available CNC machines and requires continuous corrective measures to maintain tolerances and acceptable residual stresses. Key conclusions are the importance of integration between design and manufacture and the possibility for remote manufacturing.

24.

Development and trends in laser welding of sheet metal By F. Vollertsen, published in the Advanced Materials Research Volumes 6-8 of Trans Tech Publications in 2005, obtained via TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/ The article reports on the potentials for reduction of distortions and hot cracking in laser welding by types of materials: thin materials, steel to steel, steel to copper, brittle materials, thick sheets. It also discusses some aspects of fluid dynamics and alloying using filler wire. Laser welding in the last 20 years has undergone remarkable progress, technologies offer continuous wave and pulsed solutions for different applications, the gain medium has moved from CO2 to solid state, and the level of knowledge and expertise in advanced processing techniques and metallurgy have helped to overcome some former limitations.

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25.

High-power fibre lasers Application potentials for welding of steel and aluminium sheet material By C. Thomy, T. Seefeld, F. Vollertsen and published in Advanced Materials Research Volumes 6-8 of Trans Tech Publications, 2005, obtained via TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/. Fibre laser power is scaleable to 10kW with excellent beam quality. High power fibre lasers are energy efficient, have a long lifetime, and are small which have made them a viable alternative to solid state and CO2 lasers for many applications. The authors tested a fibre laser, a Nd:YAG and a CO2 laser of comparable power for steel and aluminium welding. The fibre laser performed well, with improved welding speed and ability to cope with thick sheets, especially welding with solid state lasers.

26.

Small devices manufacturing by copper vapour lasers By S. G. Gorney, I. V. Polyakov, M. O. Nikonchuk, published in Micromachining and microfabrication process technology, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 5715, 2005, obtained via TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/. The article describes the characteristics of copper-vapour lasers in the production of stents and other precision cut micro-components, whose production requires low beam divergence, little treatment and heat treatment zone, high accuracy and economic efficiency. The copper-vapour laser is better suited to these applications than other small wavelength lasers such as solid state or Excimer lasers. They can also be used to cut most materials i.e. metals and alloys, semiconductors, ceramics, wood, graphite, and to treat quartz. The main limitation is related to thickness, which should not exceed 500m. Their large size and time needed to prepare them for operation means that they are not widespread.

27.

Fabrication flexibility. At Work in Brazils no-till zone By the OEM Finn-Power, published in Tooling and Production magazine, 2004, downloaded at http://toolingandproduction.com/archives/1104/1104fabrication_flexibility. asp. This article reports on the use of a laser work centre in a market leading Brazilian group that produces highly vertically integrated no-till seeding equipment for agriculture. Lasers support the companys need for flexibility (2,000 components were previously outsourced) with linear motors and a flying optics system with a working area of 3,000mm x 1,500mm x 100mm, which processes mild steel 6mm thickness and aluminium 3mm thickness. The group has equipped the system with automatic loading and off-loading devices and operates 3 shifts per day, 7 days per week complying with the daily, weekly and monthly maintenance schedule.

28.

Let there be light By John Excell, published in Design Engineering magazine in 2004, downloaded at http://www.listechnology.com/DesignEngineer-060404.htm The article is based on an interview with the director of an aerospace manufacturing research centre who states that laser technologies brought a new manufacturing era due to their unprecedented complexity, strength and low weight structures. At the heart of the spin-off company that he registered is the development of a technique known as laser induced super (LIS) plasticity to create a working cell completely based on lasers. LIS can create the strongest known form of metal joints with homogeneous joining, and no residual stresses. According to the interviewee, lasers will replace conventional machine tools in a huge number of machining facilities.

29.

Machine vision guides lumber cutting

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By Yvon Bouchard, Philip Colet, published in Laser Focus World in 2004, downloaded at http://www.laserfocusworld.com/display_article/202939/12/ARCHI/none/F eat/Machine-vision-guides-lumber-cutting The article describes application of lasers for a vision system used to optimise lumber cutting, and gives examples of how decreasing costs and increasing ease of use and interfacing of vision systems enables the practical industrial networking of vision and robotic systems. Key issues for competitive lumber cutting are: reducing overheads and cutting errors, correct classification of woods, yield optimisation, i.e. greater precision and speed. An OEM incorporated machine-vision system is incorporated into its sawmill plants that are equipped with cameras. Once the image is acquired, a specific software and 2-80 lasers for triangulation (lasers project multiple lines of light as the log comes down the arc) elaborate the information obtaining the best yield cutting configuration, which is transmitted to the mechanical saws.

30.

Material processing with fibre lasers By Ruediger Hack, published in Industrial Laser Solutions magazine in 2004, downloaded at http://ils.pennnet.com/display_article/167291/39/ARTCL/none/none/Mate rial-processing-with-fibre-lasers/ The article reports the advantage of fibre lasers in marking, micro-bending (for the hard disk industry) and micro-cutting applications (for the medical devices industry). Other applications are annealing, selective soldering, graphic arts. The main advantages are: high reliability, maintenance-free, high wall-plug efficiency, compact design, easy-to-integrate beam delivery, coolerfree operations, small floor space, and beam delivery distances of up to 7m. Fibre lasers are of particular interest for applications that need a small focused spot and high power density, e.g. 100W can be focused to 5 microns diameter with a brightness of more than 109 W/cm2.

31.

CO2 lasers make the cut By Holger Schlter, published in Photonics Spectra magazine, 2003, downloaded at http://www.photonics.com/printerFriendly.aspx?contentID=66470 This article reports the advantages of lasers versus plasma, waterjet and punch-presses in flexible cutting and in particular of CO2-laser technologies from the OEMs point of view. Although CO2 lasers can offer power in excess of 20kW, optimal power is 5kW predicting a factor of +1kW every 5 years. The article benchmarks commercial solid state lasers with CO2 lasers, which require an investment 2-3 times smaller and unrivalled cost per Watt, while the former have much more flexible beam delivery conditions. The text reports the importance of development of optics and of accurate CO2-laser manufacturing and assembly in order to avoid harmful oil or solid-particles contamination in the fast rotating turbo radial blowers, which ensure high power to the equipment.

32.

Fibre lasers grow in power By Valentin Gapontsev and William Krumpke, published in Laser Focus World magazine, 2002, downloaded at http://www.laserfocusworld.com/display_article/151027/12/ARCHI/none/F eat/Fibre-lasers-grow-in-power This article is about the evolution and characteristics of fibre lasers, invented in 1963. Power has grown from a few milliwatts to 4W thanks to the cladding pumping by high-power multimode diodes described in the article, which also describes the function of the fibre laser. The advantages of these types of lasers are high efficiency, compact dimensions, lifetime (30,000 hours vs

50

10,000 for solid state lasers), no necessity for air-cooling or maintenance. In 2000 power increased to 100W through addition of a multi-fibre side coupling technology and, because of its brightness, it can be used for welding, sintering and low-power brazing. Other advantages of fibre lasers are related to the insensitiveness of the beam quality to the power operating point and the possibility to transport the output for distances up to 100m. Combining the output of several 100W-lasers, the OEM could scale up to 2kW suitable for automotive welding, and even to 10kW.

33.

Towards real-time quality analysis measurement of metal laser cutting By Cesare Alippi, Vincenzo Bono, Vincenzo Piuri, Fabio Scotti, published in the VIMs 2002 International Symposium on Virtual and Intelligent Measurement System Proceedings, 2002, downloaded at http://www.photonics.com/printerFriendly.aspx?contentID=66470 The article describes an automated system for real-time quality monitoring in laser cutting applications, for high-tech steel manufacturing industries. Because of the sensitivity to even small variations in the metal reflectivity, roughness, and oxidation and other risks such as metal eruption on optics because of source instability, the reproducibility of laser metal welding process could be affected and off-line inspections would not detect this. The researchers developed a method based on digital image sequences of the sparks generated during the cut, which can be used to estimate quality by analysing the angle of the sparks and the cutting parameters (speed, type and thickness of metal, laser type). The results are categorised as acceptable, not acceptable, not classifiable with a mean classification error of about 0.18%.

34.

ICS lectures on industrial application of lasers By N. U. Wetter, W. De Rossi, F. Grassi, W.M. Steen, Spero Penha Morato, published by ICS UNIDO in 2000, obtainable from ICS UNIDO or at http://www.unido.org/en/doc/4490 The text in this book is part of a training package developed by ICS UNIDO with the goal of examining and describing the most common types of lasers used in industry, and providing some basic scientific background. The various areas of industrial laser applications (cutting, welding, drilling, marketing and scribing), as well as the all-important subject of the laser market, are covered in detail in its seven chapters. The laser applications described are tailored to the objectives of the high-tech industrial sectors of Latin America, and focus on the expanding endogenous capacity in the laser field in that region. Laser applications in the electronics and optoelectronics industries in Japan By Kunihiko Washio, presented at the SPIE conference on laser applications in microelectronic and optoelectronic in January 1999, downloaded at http://www.photonics.com/printerFriendly.aspx?contentID=66470 The paper discusses current status of and technological trends in laser material processing applications in the electronics and optoelectronics industries in Japan. The article describes typical applications (semiconductor devices, display devices, circuit components, peripheral devices, energy devices) by types of laser (Q-switched solid-state lasers, pulsed Nd:YAG, XeCl Excimer, pulsed CO2, KrF or ArF Excimer). Representative applications are photomask repairing, lithography, memory repairing, annealing, marking, trimming, drilling, patterning, and welding for products ranging from mobile phones to laptops, memory chips, to solar cells. Laser cutting: industrial relevance, process optimisation and laser safety By H. Haferkamp, M. Goede, A. Von Busse, and O. Thrk, presented at the opto-contact workshop on technology transfers, start-up opportunities and

35.

36.

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37.

strategic alliances, Qubec, Canada in 1998, obtained through TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/. The paper tackles two aspects of laser cutting: integrated quality control techniques and environmental safety and health. It describes local high resolution thermo-graphic measurement of the temperature distribution within processing zones as a way to monitor process quality. Concerning safety, the hazards involved in laser cutting are outlined: varying emission rates with a complexity of air contaminants of which 90% are highly breathable, and 40%-60% of which may remain in the alveoli. The article describes different filtration systems, depending on the application and the materials: cyclones, electrostatic filters, surface filters, adsorption, absorption, combustion, biological filtration. High power fibre lasers By V.P. Gapontsev; L.E. of the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics; USSR Academy of Science, 1991, obtained through TIB Hannover at http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en/ and downloadable at http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1991assl.proc..258G . The article describes a study on the possibility of increasing the output power of fibre lasers by tens of watts and compares the advantages of these with solid state laser: high optical damage threshold of quartz fibres, high single pass gain, minimum forced water cooling or air cooling for power less than 10W, insensitivity to stresses due to temperature gradients typical of solid state, low level of losses in the quartz fibres. The article forecast the competition from fibre lasers vs high-power crystal lasers in several applications with simple, compact, reliable and low-cost devices.

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Part 2. Lasers in the future: perspective for small and medium enterprises

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SUMMARY 1 2 LASERS - THE WAY FORWARD ......................................................................58 ADVANCEMENTS IN LASER SOURCES AND PROCESSES ...........................58 2.1 LASER sources improve and become more available ........................60 2.1.1 Evolving laser source schemes ....................................................61 2.1.2 Semiconductor power lasers ........................................................61 2.1.3 Fibre lasers ....................................................................................65 2.1.3.1 CW fibre lasers status and perspective ......................66 2.1.3.2 Pulsed fibre lasers ..................................................69 2.1.4 CO2, solid state, gas lasers ...........................................................70 2.2 New interaction mechanisms...............................................................72 2.2.1 Exploiting a better beam quality ..................................................72 2.2.2 Novel processes based on short pulses ......................................73 2.2.3 Improved versatility of laser sources ...........................................73 3 HOW RESEARCH CAN INFORM SMEs ..........................................................75 3.1 Direction of laser research ...................................................................75 3.2 Some examples of future developments ............................................75 3.2.1 Solar-pumped lasers .....................................................................75 3.2.2 Versatile microchannel drilling in transparent media ................76 3.2.3 The silicon laser ............................................................................76 4 CONCLUSIONS ...............................................................................................78 REFERENCES .........................................................................................................79

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List of Figures Figure 1. Dr. Theodore H. Maiman and the scheme of his ruby laser. Figure 2. Set-up for automated laser welding of luer-lock pipes for application in the production of sterile components. The laser improves welding by enabling a contactless process, with high speed and full attainment of product specifications. Think Laser (Italy) Figure 3. Optical power of mounted bars has grown at a compound rate of about 15%. This may continue toward the kiloWatt per bar5. Figure 4. Structure of a semiconductor or diode laser, with indication of the layers to obtain the double heterostructure6. Figure 5. Typical relation between a beam irradiated by a semiconductor laser near the emitting surface, near field, and farther field. Typical values of the near field size are 1 m x few tens up to few hundreds of m, while the angular extension of the far field is about 50 in the fast axis (vertical in the scheme) and a few deg. in the slow axis. Figure 6. Single emitters semiconductor lasers, 6 W CW out of a 200 m x 1 m active area. Emission available at different wavelengths including 808 and 840 nm. Footprint size is approx 6X10 mm. Spectra Physics Newport (USA) www.newport.com Figure 7. Typical arrangement of a semiconductor laser bar, with the parallel emission of many emitters Figure 8. High power (60 W CW, 808 nm) semiconductor laser bars: fast axis collimated (right) or not (left). The difference is the cylindrical lens fixed in front of the emission area. The electrical connections are the screws on top of the component. The footprint size is DILAS (D) www.dilas.de Figure 9. A pair of wavelength-multiplexed stacks (each consisting of three sets of bars at different wavelengths) is spatially offset by half of the bar separation for spatial interleaving. Spectra-Physics (USA) and University of Southampton (UK). Figure 10. Miniaturised power semiconductor lasers: the left and centre ones with surface mount (TO 220 package) the right with the C-mount. Osram (D) Figure 11. The scheme of a power fibre amplifier Figure 12. The fibre laser with several pump lasers connected, to generate high power beams Figure 13. Pump module assembly for high power fibre laser. IPG (Oxford, MA USA) Figure 14. High power fibre laser unit: assembly of the pump modules and the fibre resonator, IPG (USA) Figure 15. A fibre laser oscillator in operation, Laser Zentrum Hannover (Germany) Figure 16. Pulsed fibre laser in Q-switched operation, typically for marking applications, IPG (Oxford, MA USA left), SPI (Southampton, UK - right) Figure 17. An ultrafast fibre laser (left) and the setup for its use in micromachining. Laser Zentrum Hannover24 (Germany) Figure 18. KiloWatt size CO2 lasers. Semilsealed type, left ElEn (Italy) and difusion-cooled, right Trumpf (Germany) Figure 19. Examples of state-of-the-technique station for manual welding and molding repair, Sisma (Italy) Figure 20. Principle of a kiloWatt Yb:YAG disk laser, pumped by semiconductor lasers. Rofin (Germany) Figure 21. Beam parameters product BPP as a function of emitter power for different laser sources, IPG (USA) 58 59

60 61 62

62

63 63

64

65 65 66 67 68 69 69 70 70 71 71 72 73

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Figure 22. Different finishing for cuts operated on a 1mm thick INVAR in the nanosecond regime, 8 ns, 0.5 mJ per pulse (right) and femtosecond regime 200 fs, 0.5 mJ per pulse (left) , Clark (Canada) Figure 23. Laser welded automotive light and particular of the welded area, Think Laser (Italy) Figure 24. Solar powered Cr-Nd:YAG laser Figure 25. Fabrication of microchannels in fused silica with circular cross section femtosecond pulses, (a) end-face microscope image of a row of microchannels and (b) SEM image of one of them. Figure 26. Scheme of an ultrafast silicon laser

74 75 76 77

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ACRONYMS ABS CAD CAM CNC CO CO2 CW Er:YAG FAC HAZ HeNe LASER LCD LIS MAG MIG MPE N2 Nd:YAG OEM PC PET PVC QC R&D SAC SME TIG Tm-fibre Yb-fibre

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic Computer Aided Design Computer Aided Manufacturing Computer Numerical Control Carbon Monoxide Carbon Dioxide gas used also as laser medium for mainly industrial high-power use Continuous Wave Erbium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet, laser medium mainly for medical use Fast Axis Collimation Heat affected zone Helium Neon laser Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Liquid crystal display Laser Induced Super Plasticity Metal Active Gas Metal Inert Gas Maximum Permissible Exposure Nitrogen gas used also as laser medium Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet, laser medium for industrial, medical and scientific applications Original Equipment Manufacturers Personal computer Polyethylene terephthalate plastic Polyvinyl Chloride plastic Quality Control Research and Development Slow Axis Collimation Small and Medium Enterprise/s Tungsten Inert Gas Optical fibre with core doping of Tulium element, laser medium mainly for medical use Optical fibre with core doping of Ytterbium element, laser medium mainly for industrial use

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1 LASERS - THE WAY FORWARD

The capacity of lasers to generate new industrial solutions, new processes and to be more financially viable has been proven. The first laser, produced by Theodore H. Maiman on 16 May 1960 at the Hughes Research Laboratory in California, was a remarkable scientific achievement, following four decades of effort and discovery. Maiman introduced this new device to the world. He used the technique of shining a high-power flash lamp on a ruby rod with silver-coated surfaces.i However, its introduction met with some strong opposition. Charles H. Towner, who pioneered masers and lasers was awarded the Nobel Prize for his efforts, in 1964, He reported that initially many people said to mepartly as a joke but also as a challengethat the laser was "a solution looking for a problem".ii

Figure 1. Dr Theodore H. Maiman and his scheme for a ruby laseriii

The introduction of the lasers was hampered by the complexity and fragility of the early devices, often based on expensive and unfamiliar components. The barriers reduced as the applications and versatility of lasers improved and expanded. More companies began to produce lasers and more mechanisms were invented for laser light exploitation. More novel products were produced that previously had not been possible and a virtuous circle was set up, which turned what many had thought of as a scientific marvel into a commodity. The international market for lasers and their components is now very mature. Lasers have brought a number of functions to everyday activities such as bar-code readers, DVD and CD readers in computers, music/video players, screen pointers, pollution analysers in towns and cities, and optical rulers and range meters, which have become universally accepted. Here we examine the current and future state of laser technology and point to areas where developments in laser sources and applications could be effective and profitable for SMEs and entrepreneurs looking to progress their business. As good information and the capacity to forecast the economic evolution of an industrial sector is crucial in the decision-making process, we hope that this work will be informative and improve understanding of the present and future opportunities related to laser technologies.

2 ADVANCEMENTS IN LASER SOURCES AND PROCESSES

It is necessary to understand that envisaging a new application for laser technology is the outcome of a series of questions deriving from the context of the application. The spur for envisaging a new technique can include: 58

reducing processing times in order to increase production rates. This is standard process-innovation; exploiting a new interaction mechanism to improve the state-of-the-technique, e.g. to reduce the side-effects of a welding process, or the heat transfer in the drilling process of a delicate biological membrane; improving general performance of a production system, e.g. by using a robotic arm for laser beam delivery and operation in relatively small work stations; reducing the cost of the production process by avoiding complex systems or by reducing the space required for the production station or by significantly reducing the costs of the process station, the power supply, the recycling of associated components, or the disposal of production rejects.

Figure 2. Set-up for automated laser welding of luer-lock pipes for application in the production of sterile components. In this case, the laser improves the welding because it enables a contactless process, with high speed and full attainment of the product specifications. Think Laseriv (Italy)

To explain the role of the laser in an innovative production scheme, we need to focus on a series of factors: what process is the laser needed for? what type of materials are used in the process and what are their thermal/optical/chemical characteristics, in order to define the interaction parameters? what are the specifications for the laser source, in terms of wavelength, type of operation, CW or pulsed, average/peak power, pulse duration, etc.? what are the specifications for the system that guide the light to the point where the process occurs? what are the specifications for the optical system that delivers the radiation, as the focusing unit or the collimator? does the business plan for the laser solution indicate convenience with respect to a traditional solution? 59

This last point has to be seen in the perspective of the expected lifetime of the new technology, and an estimate of production development. It is separate from the technical aspects listed, but equally important. In choosing the most appropriate laser technique, the technical and economic experts need to have equal input.

Figure 3. The optical power of mounted bars has grown at a compound rate of about 15%. This may continue towards the kiloWatt per bar5

2.1 LASER sources improve and become more available

The evolution of the laser market has provided opportunities for SMEs. In semiconductor lasers, the price per watt has decreased from $2,000/W in 1987 to some $25/W in 2006 for high power bars,v and to some $6/W for fibre-coupled diodes, according to IPG Photonics (Oxford, MA).vi These components are the basis of many laser applications and are the pump sources for fibre lasers and most solid state lasers including versions of Nd:YAG lasers. In addition to decreasing costs, the capacity to generate more and more power (depicted in Figure 4) has increased allowing reductions in the size of the laser source, making it simpler and easier to mount on a compact station. Solutions once considered too expensive for SMEs are now viable. Below we review some laser source developments, driven by the research. We highlight those that could be of interest to SMEs.

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Figure 4. Structure of a semiconductor or diode laser, with indication of the layers required to obtain the double heterostructure

2.1.1 Evolving laser source schemes

Developments in laser sources are aimed at increasing simplicity, wall-plug efficiency (the ratio of emitted over absorbed power including chilling), reducing production costs and maintenance requirements, and increasing ease of integration in process systems. In most cases, these aspects have been addressed very effectively and to an extent were unforeseen only ten years earlier.

2.1.2 Semiconductor power lasers

The high power semiconductor, or diode, laser is maybe the most important type of laser component due to its versatility and reliability. Initial difficulties were related to the thermal damage induced by absorption of the side of the laser beam inside the medium, and the high dissipation resulting from the emission. The first aspect was addressed very successfully by adding a near-transparent surrounding to the active medium, as depicted in Figure 5, which shows the double heterostructure,vii which provides this property.viiiImproved efficiency came from the remarkable progress made in the process for manufacturing the layer structure, which resulted in a very pure laser medium.

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Figure 5. Typical relation between the beam irradiated by a semiconductor laser near the emitting surface, near field, and far away, the far field. Typical value of the near field size are 1 m x few tens up to few hundreds of m, while the angular extension of the far field is about 50 in the fast axis (vertical in the scheme) and a few degrees in the slow axis.

Laser beams are now very asymmetric, due to the large difference in the extension of the lasers gain medium in the direction normal to the junction and that parallel to it (see Figure 6).

Figure 6. Single emitters semiconductor lasers, 6W CW out of a 200m x 1m active area. Emission available at different wavelengths including 808 and 840nm. Footprint size is approx 6X10mm. Spectra Physics Newport (USA) www.newport.com

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The direct use of the radiation is quite limited for the rapid spread of the radiation, which causes a corresponding rapid decay of laser intensity along the emission axis. In order to limit this phenomenon, a lens to reduce the fast axis divergence is often included in the laser source. A second lens, which in some cases can be combined with the first, can be introduced to achieve collimation of the slow axis. In the mid 1990s high power laser bars began to be produced by combining a series of emitters (see Figure 7).

Figure 7. Typical arrangement of a semiconductor laser bar, with the parallel emissions from many emitters

A fast axis divergence lens can be used to collimate these emissions and exploit a system for shared aperture component (SAC). Application of the radiation from the bars requires equalisation of the beam parameter product (BPP) parameters along the slow and fast axes.

Figure 8. High power (60W CW, 808nm) semiconductor laser bars: fast axis collimated (right) or not (left). The difference is the cylindrical lens fixed in front of the emission area. The electrical connections are the screws on top of the component. The footprint size is DILAS (D) www.dilas.de

The above described operation was achieved using different optical layouts. A solution using the step-mirror design was introduced by Keming Du and co-workers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Aachen, Germany.ix A different but also very effective solution exploiting micro lenses was introduced by the LIMO-Lissotschenko Mikrooptik, Dortmund, Germany.x There are other schemes that use different geometries of planexi or concave mirrors.xii The technique for this power emission and handling using laser bars and beam shaping optics has achieved several hundreds of Watts of power from a single fibre. In applications where the process uses more than one wavelength, the combinations of bars each emit on a different wavelength which are joined using dichronic mirrors. An example of a beam combiner using high power bars is given in Figure 9.

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Figure 9. A pair of wavelength-multiplexed stacks (each consisting of three sets of bars at different wavelengths) is spatially offset by half of the bar separation for spatial interleaving. Spectra-Physics (USA) and University of Southampton (Southampton, England)

The life of semiconductor lasers has increased by several orders of magnitude and expected values in normal laser operations are now some 10-50,000 hours for continuous-wave (CW) devices and several billion shots for pulsed lasers. The future for semiconductor lasers looks promising: the efficiency of radiation generation is increasing steadily. A US DARPA-funded project, Super High Efficiency Diode Sources (SHEDS), is working on achieving values of 80% of the ratio of electrical to optical power.xiii Several companies are marketing a component with 60% efficiency, nearly 50% more than values two years ago. In addition to reduced absorption in supply power, the high efficiency enables reduced dissipation. Reducing the power of the cooler, and its size and cost, makes thermal management of the source easier and cheaper. In addition to the lower prices this will make many applications more attractive; cooling of the laser sources bas been improved through a novel technique for the transfer of heat from the laser active element and the exterior. For example, a micro channel structure has been introduced,xiv to reduce thermal resistance and deformation, improving laser operation;xv the packaging of the laser bars is simpler and more compact. CW lasers of a few Watts power have been produced using surface-mount geometry, which indicates the direction towards the integration of the laser source inside the power supply with a paramount change of the laser source concept. The diagram below (Figure 10) shows some early examples of this development, for fibre-coupled or free space sources. The C-mount standard in the last picture is an evolution of the single emitter laser with a reduced footprint of about 7x7mm.

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Figure 10. Miniaturised power semiconductor lasers: the first and second with surface mount (TO 220 package) the last with a C-mount. Osramxvi (Germany)

Semiconductor lasers are eroding ever larger shares of the market for traditional solid state lasers for industrial applications. Based on their intrinsic simplicity of operation and rugged design, they are expected to expand in the future and especially in the context of technologies for SMEs.

2.1.3 Fibre lasers

The high power fibre laser is a recent development in industrial lasers and has some interesting characteristics. Its scheme is directly derived from devices in telecommunication networks used to amplify optical streams of information along fibres. This has eliminated the traditional scheme of detection, filtering and re-modulation of the pulses in long distance data links.xvii

Figure 11. The scheme of a power fibre amplifierxviii

Figure 11 depicts a fibre amplifier, which is the core of the fibre laser. The illustration shows the double-clad fibre, which is one approach to pump-core coupling: the pump pulse is a laser beam on the wavelength of the absorbing band of the specific laser gain element. This is usually focused on the external guiding structure of the fibre (green). The blue core at the centre of the fibre is where the laser active element is positioned. The optical pumping is achieved by the coupling of the pump radiation with the active core, along the fibre, as shown in the ray representation. The amplified beam is emitted from the core, with the divergence resulting from the guided mode. Other schemes were demonstrated with interesting outcomes.xix The wall-plug-efficiency of high power fibre lasers has achieved 25% value in the case of ytterbium core, operating at 1,080nm. Figure 12 shows the complete laser, including the semiconductor pump lasers coupled using fibre connections.

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Figure 12. The fibre laser with several pump laser connected, to generate high power beamsxx

The powerful fibre laser is a synthesis of several independent achievements: powerful pump power sources provided by fibre-coupled semiconductor lasers; development of new schemes for coupling the pump and the active medium; introduction of reliable resonator mirrors inside the fibre, by means of periodic modulation of the fibre refractive index, such as a Bragg mirror; fabrication of high purity fibres, which reduce scattering and spurious absorption. This is crucial for the increased power needed to control failures in the components.

Progress in this type of laser has paralleled the progress made in photonic crystal fibres, whose versatile design enables a variety of linear and non-linear optical effects.xxi The most important characteristic of the beam generated by a fibre laser is its superior brightness with respect to other sources of similar power. The internal core of the fibre laser provides the laser radiation with a very regular (often near Gaussian) transverse profile. The beam diameter in the fibre is similar to that in the core, which is a few micrometers for low- to mid-power lasers up to about 100W, and from 50 to 100m for kiloWatt range lasers. The table below indicates the laser elements, which are doped at the core for industrial lasers and the corresponding wavelength range of the emissionxxii. Element Emission range 3+ ytterbium (Yb ) 1.0-1.1 m erbium (Er3+) 1.5-1.6 m, 2.7 m 3+ thulium (Tm ) 1.7-2.1 m This efficient and very small emissions area enables the radiation to be focused in order to achieve higher intensities than obtained with solid state lasers of similar power. The advantages are discussed below.

2.1.3.1

CW fibre lasers status and perspective

CW fibre lasers are improving in terms of the power emitted and in the variety of wavelengths available. As already mentioned, in order to increase the power, technological progress in fibre construction, reduction of impurities, increased pump power and stability, coupling of the 66

pump to the core, etc. were required.xxiii The problems were related to non-linear absorption and back reflection, due to the very high wave intensity inside the fibre, and damage occurring at the interfaces, or the end face of the fibre. The current CW fibre lasers are comparable if not superior, in terms of maximum power, to traditional laser sources.xxiv Peak power can reach 50kW, according to IPG Photonics (Oxford, MA), bigger than the most powerful CO2 sources. Figure 13 depicts a compact source using a kW ytterbium fibre laser. The pump lasers for this Yb:fibre laser are a series of modules of single emitter semiconductor lasers, that are closely arranged (see Figure 14).

Figure 13. Pump module assembly for high power fibre laser. IPG (Oxford, MA)

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Figure 14. High power fibre laser unit: assembly of the pump modules and the fibre resonator, IPG (Oxford, MA)

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CW lasers are likely to experience significantly improved performance and wider application. The economic and technical advantages of these sources over more traditional ones include higher efficiency, greater brightness or emitted power per unit area of the emitter, and solid angle of emission, smaller size, and more convenient beam delivery, via fibres that are tens or even hundreds of metres long. Their growth will cause a reduction in the price per Watt, similar to that for semiconductor lasers.

Figure 15. A fibre laser oscillator in operation, Laser Zentrum Hannoverxxv (Germany)

2.1.3.2

Pulsed fibre lasers

Pulsed fibre lasers have not overtaken traditional Nd:YAG or CO2 lasers in terms of peak and average power.

Figure 16. Pulsed fibre laser in Q-switched operation, typically for marking applications, IPG (Oxford, MA left), SPI (Southampton, UK - right)

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The most popular application of pulsed fibre lasers is for marking surfaces, and for resistor trimming, drilling of small holes and similar micromachining jobs. The compact size of the source, combined with its rugged construction makes it a candidate for low to mid power applications, about 20W, that require Gaussian profile emitted beams. Another area of application is as a source of ultrafast duration pulses, i.e. durations of sub-picoseconds (1 ps = 1 10-12 s) or the femtosecond scale (1 fs = 10-15 s).

Figure 17. An ultrafast fibre laser (left) and the setup for its use in micromachining. Laser Zentrum Hannover24 (D)

The technique used for the generation of these pulses is mode-locking, which is very common in crystal lasers.7 The implementation of fibre into this technique is complicated by the relatively low threshold or non-linear effects, which negatively influence performance.xxvi There is very little demand from industry for ultrafast sources. However, greater understanding of the potential offered by ultrafast processes enabled by these sources is expected to increase their application.

2.1.4 CO2, solid state, gas lasers

The CO2 laser, for many years has been the industry standard for metal cutting and welding. Its technology is mature and can be considered the benchmark for comparison with other newer sources.

Figure 18. KiloWatt size CO2 lasers. Semi-sealed type, left ElEn (Italy) and diffusion-cooled, right Trumpf (Germany)

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Large power systems are usually only used by the heavy industries; the several hundred Watt to a few kiloWatt systems are the most attractive for SMEs. The demand for advanced beam delivery for robotic welding, has highlighted the advantages of solid state lasers such as the cylindrical-rod Nd:YAG laser. The pumping schemes in these types of lasers are based on lamps that need to be replaced every few hundred hours of operation, sometimes up to a thousand hours. This type of Nd:YAG laser is the standard for several applications requiring tens to hundreds of Watts of power. For SMEs with small to medium scale production, laser technology has brought advantages and success in several types of applications.

Figure 19. Examples of state-of-the-technique station for manual welding and moulding repair, Sismaxxvii (Italy)

For high power applications, these sources have been outperformed by a different type of resonator, based on an active disc-shaped medium. These lasers are attractive in terms of price per Watt for sources in the range of 1 to a few kW.

Figure 20. Principle of a kW Yb:YAG disk laser, pumped by semiconductor lasers. Rofinxxviii (D)

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2.2 New interaction mechanisms

The developments in laser sources are continually extending the range of tools available to laser applicators. The more direct effect of these developments is the reduced price per Watt. These new sources are spurring competition by reducing processing costs. However, other interesting aspects are introduced with the sources, i.e. the power fibre lasers. There are also other benefits which need some further explanation.

2.2.1 Exploiting a better beam quality

The description of the high power fibre laser shows the laser beam is emitted from a very small active core. Numerical characterisation of the beam quality can be done by beam parameter product (BPP), i.e. the product of the beam source size (the radius wo) multiplied by the far field half-angle of the beam f, based on the following equation: BPP [ mm mrad ] = f wo = [ m ] M2 / where M2 is the quality factor of the beam and is the laser wavelength.xxix The values of interest to SMEs are plotted in the graph in Figure 21.

30.00 25.00 BPP (mm x mrad) 20.00 15.00 10.00

Metal Cutting Diode-Pumped SS Lasers Lamp -Pumped SS Lasers

BPP - CO2 BPP- Fiber Laser

5.00 0.00 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Power ( kW)

Figure 21. Beam parameters product BPP as a function of emitter power for different laser sources, IPG (Oxford, MA)

A low value of BPP produces a focus on a small spot, with high intensity on the irradiated area. If the process is characterised by a threshold, e.g. in welding or marking processes, a low BPP reduces the specification of the source power to accommodate this process. This also reduces the area affected by the laser process. Therefore, a low BPP limits the 72

HAF of the material, and preserves the original structure of the sample. The advantages of a low BPP are significant, and are the basis of current laser source developments.

2.2.2 Novel processes based on short pulses

The action of the laser pulse in the case of a surface process, such as marking or trimming, is achieved in tens or one-two hundreds of nanoseconds. This is the typical regime of operation in Q-switched lasers. A variety of sources may be effectively operated in such a regime at different operational wavelengths.

Figure 22. Different finishing for cuts operated on a 1mm thick INVAR in the nanosecond regime, 8ns, 0.5mJ per pulse (right) and femtosecond regime 200fs, 0.5mJ per pulse (left) , Clarkxxx (Canada)

The investigation on the outcome of the process in the micrometre scale has shown that in many cases it took place a significant interaction with the material close to the processed zone. The reason for this is that in this time scale the thermal conduction may induce a significant thermal cycle to this material, which results in evident transformations and even formation of micro-cracks. By repeating the above processes using sources emitting shorter pulses, as in the case of the mode-locked laser generating ultrafast pulses, the results differ. The much shorter pulse durations reduce the propagation of heat during the laser pulse, resulting in the most efficient process. Ultrafast lasers have the fewest side effects and thus interest in them is growing.

2.2.3 Improved versatility of laser sources

The change in technology from lamp-pumped to semiconductor-pumped lasers induced a significant simplification of the laser source scheme and a reduction in its size and power absorption. Fibre delivery of medium to high power beams allows the integration of a laser source with a robotic arm or a similar device which operates on 3D targets. Figure 23 depicts the final welding of the rear-light of a car, in which the curved profile was successfully welded using a 35W semiconductor laser. The joint involved clear and opaque thermoplastic moulded parts. The laser beam was focused by an optics freely manoeuvred by a robotic arm. The light robotic arm is sufficient in this case; in the case of the traditional mirror path, a much larger and more complex device would be required 73

Figure 23. Laser welded automotive light and particulars of the welded area, Think Laser (Italy)

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3 HOW RESEARCH CAN INFORM SMEs

Here we highlight some areas of research that are likely to affect the laser market in the future. From developments so far, it is clear that in the photonics area there is a very close link between the laboratory and the market.

3.1 Direction of laser research

The general direction of laser research is towards extending the limits of the current state-of-the-art. Lasers that are currently on the optical benches of research laboratories will be available in the market in a few years, indicating the speed of improvement in the power of commercial lasers, stability in terms of output power, etc. There is great interest in the production of novel laser schemes, materials, pumping systems, operational wavelengths and pulse durations. Researchers in Italy have perfected techniques to generate and measure optical pulses as short as 130 attosecondsxxxi (1 attosecond (as) = 1 10-18 seconds), thus for the first time producing an artificial event shorter than the classical orbital period of the electron in the hydrogen atom. The results of their work will likely be exploited to devise optical tools for the remote controlled induction of chemical bonds, which could also have an impact on industrial chemistry.

3.2 Some examples of future developments

A selection of results that could be of interest for future developments of SME-oriented laser technologies are presented below.

3.2.1 Solar-pumped lasers

The idea of exploiting solar energy directly to energise laser pumping processes emerged in the mid 1990s.xxxii However, its application has evolved only slowly.

Figure 24. Solar powered Cr-Nd:YAG laser

The growing interest in developing renewable energy sources and in more energy-efficient processing, prompted a Japanese research group led by Prof. Yabe of the Tokyo Institute of Technology to develop a laser pumped by solar radiation, used to induce an energy 75

cycle without the use of fossil fuel.xxxiii Figure 24 depicts the system, which produced a laser output of 24.4W with a 1.3m2 Fresnel lens collecting solar light.xxxiv The researchers claim that the system could achieve kiloWatts of laser output with a solar collector of some 7m2. This type of source could be used in many applications working flexibly according to the available solar energy Figure 24

3.2.2 Versatile microchannel drilling in transparent media

Microstructures in transparent media are required for many applications, such as microfluidics, drug-deliverys, micro-motors and filtering of liquids. The interaction of ultrafast pulses with doped glass enables the engraving of optical guides on glass. The research group at the ULTRAS Laboratories in Milan, Italy, have produced such a guide on laser active glass.xxxv

Figure 25. Fabrication of microchannels in fused silica with circular cross section femtosecond pulses, (a) end-face microscope image of a row of microchannels and (b) SEM image of one of them.xxxvi

A further development involved producing a clear channel, a few tens of microns in diameter, in the glass, again with free choice of the shape and intersection of the channels. This technique opens the possibilities for biophotonic devices integrating microfluidic channels and optical waveguides in three-dimensional configurations incorporating novel features.

3.2.3 The silicon laser

The possibility of transmitting information with light is limited by the emitters, lasers and LEDs, which are made of different materials from the usual silicon information processors. Direct laser emission from silicon are impaired by physical properties and consequently research into methods to make silicon-based devices suitable sources for short pulses is very active. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) have produced a laser structure on a silicon wafer,xxxvii which produces picosecond pulses at high rates of

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repetition, which is the essential characteristic of a source for integrated information processing.

Figure 26. Scheme of an ultrafast silicon laserxxxviii

An electrically pumped, mode-locked evanescent laser on silicon has achieved four pulses at multiple infrared wavelengths accompanied by 40GHz repetition rates. This demonstrates that silicon lasers could significantly reduce the cost of lasers in numerous integrated-circuit applications, and is promising for a wide number of applications.

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4 CONCLUSIONS
The price per Watt of laser light has been steadily decreasing and it is reasonable to think that this will continue into the future. The advantages of lasers in manufacturing are manifold: many applications using lasers show better quality, higher productivity and more opportunity for processing. This report has demonstrated that there will be new opportunities in the near and longer term future for entrepreneurs.

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Reference books on lasers and optics: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. O. Svelto, Principles of Lasers, 5th ed., Plenum Press 1999. W. Koechner, Solid-State Laser Engineering, 6th ed., Springer 2006. A.E. B. Saleh and M.C.Teich Fundamentals of Photonics, John Wiley Series in Pure and Applied Optics 2007. A. Siegman, Lasers, University Science Books 1986. E. Hecht, Optics, 4th ed., Addison-Wesley 2001.

General books on laser applications W. M. Steen, Laser Material Processing, 3rd ed., Springer 2005. D. Schuoeker, High Power Laser in Production Engineering, World Scientific, 1999. J. Powell, Laser Cutting , Springer 1998. Laser Institute of America LIA Handbook of Laser Materials Processing, Magnolia Publishing 2001. W. W. Duley, Laser Welding, John Wiley 1999. In the indication of the references, the number in bolt type is the volume number and the following one is the initial page of the article. Theodore H. Maiman, Stimulated Optical Radiation in Ruby, Nature 187, 493 (06 Aug 1960). ii Charles H. Townes, The first laser, from A Century of Nature: Twenty-One Discoveries that Changed Science and the World, Laura Garwin and Tim Lincoln, editors. The University of Chicago Press, 2007. iii http://timeline.aps.org/APS/Timeline/Middle.cfm?EventID=109 iv Ch. 10 of W. M. Steen, Laser Material Processing, 3rd ed., Springer 2005 and www.thinklasersrl.com v M. Apter et al. High-power diode-laser bars come of age, http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/250394. vi T. Hausken, Battle heats up between bars and single-emitter diodes, http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/266396. vii R. Diehl, High Power Diode Lasers, Springer 2000. viii O. Svelto, Principle of Lasers, 5th Ed., Plenum Press 1999. ix K. Du, M. Baumann, B. Ehlers, H.G. Treusch, P. Loosen, Fiber coupling technique with micro step-mirrors for high-power diode laser bars, OSA TOPS, 10, 1997. x www.limo.de xi S Bonora and P. Villoresi, Advanced optics expand the applications of high power diode lasers, http://spie.org/x8699.xml and S. Bonora and P. Villoresi, Diode laser bar beam shaping by optical path equalization, J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 9 441 (2007). xii S. Bonora, Compact beam-shaping system for high-power semiconductor laser bars, J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 9 380 (2007). xiii http://www.darpa.mil/MTO/Programs/sheds/index.html xiv http://www.ilt.fraunhofer.de/eng/ilt/pdf/eng/products/Heatsinks.pdf xvhttp://www.laserfocusworld.com/display_article/255508/12/none/none/OptMN/Micr ochannel-cooling-ups-power-capacity-for-laser-diode-bars xvi http://catalog.osram-os.com/ 79
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E. Desurvire et al., Erbium-Doped Fibre Amplifiers, Device and System Developments, Wiley-Interscience, 2002. xviii C. Crossland, Thulium Puts Power Behind Eyesafe Fibre Lasers, NASA Tech Briefs, March 2007, and http://www.nufern.com/. xix A Tnnermann et al., The renaissance and bright future of fibre lasers, J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 38 S681, 2005. xx V. Gapontsev et al., 2kW CW ytterbium fibre laser with record diffraction-limited brightness, Proc. Convergence on Lasers and Electro-Optics/Europe, Munich, Germany, 2005 p. 508. and http://www.ipgphotonics.com/ xxi J. C. Knight, Photonic crystal fibers and fiber lasers, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 24, 1661 (2007) http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=josab-24-8-1661 xxii Rare-earth-doped fibers, Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology, http://www.rpphotonics.com/rare_earth_doped_fibers.html xxiii J. Limpert et al., 500 W continuous-wave fibre laser with excellent beam quality, Electronics Letters 39 645, 2003. xxiv Y. Jeong et al., Ytterbium-doped large-core fiber laser with 1.36 kW continuous-wave output power, Opt. Express 12, 6088 2004, http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-12-25-6088 xxv http://www.laser-zentrum-hannover.de/en/fields_of_work/laser _development/fiber_laser.php xxvi G. Agrawal, Nonlinear Fibre Optics, 4th ed., Elsevier 2006. xxvii Ch. 4 of W. M. Steen, Laser Material Processing, 3rd ed., Springer 2005 and http://www.sisma.com/ xxviii http://rofin.de/english/products/macro-laser/nd-yag-solid-state-lasers/disc-disklaser-principle.php xxix Ch 2 of W. M. Steen, Laser Material Processing, 3rd ed., Springer 2005 xxx http://www.cmxr.com/Industrial/Handbook/Chapter4.htm xxxi G. Sansone et al., Isolated Single-Cycle Attosecond Pulses, Science 314 443, 2006. xxxii NREL Researchers Use Sunlight to Power Laser http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/1995/solar.html xxxiii T. Yabe et al., Demonstrated fossil-fuel-free energy cycle using magnesium and laser, Appl. Phys. Lett. 89 261107 2006 xxxiv T. Yabe et al., High-efficiency and economical solar-energy-pumped laser with Fresnel lens and chromium codoped laser medium, Appl. Phys. Lett. 90 261120 2007. xxxv S. Taccheo et al., Er:Yb-doped waveguide laser fabricated by femtosecond laser pulses, Optics Letters 29 2626 2004 xxxvi V. Maselli et al. Fabrication of long micro-channels with circular cross section using astigmatically shaped femtosecond laser pulses and chemical etching, Appl. Phys. Lett. 88 191107, 2006 xxxvii M. Sysak et al., Experimental and theoretical thermal analysis of a Hybrid Silicon Evanescent Laser, Optics Express 15 15041 2007 xxxviii B. Koch et al., Optics Express 15 11225 2007.
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